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A NEW BOOK ON FANCY WORK. 

SKILFUL SUSY. A Hand-book- of Fancy Work for Fairs, 
Bazaars, and the Home. By Elinor Gay. 12mo, illustrated, 
paper covers, 50 eta. 

Articles are suggested and careful directions given for 
making them. As far as practicable, the prices of the materials 
used are given. The chapter on framing pictures will prove 
both novel and suggestive. Particular attention is called to 
Skilful Susy's collection of mottoes for decorative work. 

The Table of C&nU 

Paints, and How to Use Them. 
Mater The Dining Boom. 

Embroidery Materials. Screens. 

Stitches. Woodwork. 

>Vork. Fancy Chains. 

Framiu^ Pictur 
Desig Bags and Pillows. 

Something for Everybody. 
Mottoes for Tea and Tray Cloths. 



PJ~i\ oIOjLOO i rOi\ LrIl\L.j. 

WHAT OUR GIRLS OUGHT TO KNOW. By Mary 3 

M.D., State Normal School, Framingham, Mass. 
12mo. cloth, $1.00. 

Contents. 
A Sunny House. The Mate and the Hon 

Hours for Sleep. Nerves and N 

erves. The Use of Sewing Miu 1 

lyleonCloti' Self-Develo; 

Causes of Disease. Time 10 M. 

How to Cook. 
Feet. What to Ei 

Cloie-filting Undergar What* 

ate. What Causes Varicose Veins. 

)f the Skin What Causes Palpitation. 

..' essays arc: written in a clear 
cry sensible 
In her daughter's hands." 



.". IM A I I 



la Dey St., New York. 



SKILFUL SUSY 



A BOOK 



Fairs' and Bazars 






ELINOE J&AT V, 

FUNK & WAGNALLS 

NEW YORK LONDON" 

10-12 Dey Street 44 Fleet Street 

-4W Rights Reserved 



ll 



# 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by 

FUNK & WAGNALLS, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 



PREFACE 



This little book is intended to lighten somewhat the 
labors of women in their administration of fairs and 
bazaars — an important branch of the public service 
that has fallen almost entirely into their hands. An en- 
deavor is made to admit nothing impracticable for women 
living remote from the large centres, and at the same 
time to guide them in the use of the things which are 
about them. As the question of expense is always im- 
portant, the prices of materials have been given ; but it 
must be understood that various causes make these vari- 
able, and that, though exact for the moment, they should 
be considered as approximate. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

PREFACE iii 

Materials 7 

Embroidery Materials 10 

Embroidery Stitches 12 

Drawn Work 1(5 

Ribbon Work 18 

Designs 19 

Color 23 

Paints, and How to Use Them 24 

Suggestions 26 

Household Draperies 28 

The Dining-Room 35 

Screens 38 

Woodwork 40 

Fancy Chairs , 44 

Framing Pictures 45 

Bags and Pillows 48 

Something for Everybody 53 

Mottoes for Tea and Tray Cloths 72 



SKILFUL SUSY. 



MATEK1ALS. 

Linen goods are among the most desirable of all ma- 
terials used in embroidery, and no work is too elaborate 
to be lavished upon them. 

Butcheks' Linen is used for buffet covers, toilet sets, 
splashers, tea cloths. That used is the soft finish from 16 
to 27 inches wide, varying in quality, and from 20 to 40 
cents a yard. 

Bolting Cloth is a transparent canvas, resembling 
pineapple silk, although the latter has much less firm- 
ness of texture. It is used for very delicate tidies and 
bureau covers, with silk embroidery and transparent 
washes. 

Chinese Grass Cloth is used for the same purposes, 
but is much cheaper. Price, from 35 cents to $2.50 a 
yard. 

Kensington Crape is a yellow-white material, about 
three quarters of a yard wide, suitable for bureau covers. 
Price, 35 cents. 

Mecca Cloth is a species of crape, with narrow cross 
stripes in color on white and light-colored grounds. It 
is from 1 to 2 yards wide. Price, $1 a yard. 

Madras Muslin, used for draperies, is conspicuous for 
its soft folds, body, and for the soft color of its designs. 



8 SKILFUL SUSY. 

It is 50 inches wide, and ranges from 50 cents to $3.75 a 
yard. 

Momie Cloth has a pebbled surface, and comes in 
white, cream, gray, light blue, and old gold tints. It is 
not as much used as plainer surf aces and lighter textures. 
It is 18 inches to a yard wide. Price, from 40 to 75 cents. 

Bolton Sheeting has a diagonal twill, and is used for 
portieres, table and bed spreads. It has an ivory tint 
that is very agreeable. It is 2 yards wide. Price, $1.25. 

Batiste in white and cream tints makes desirable 
aprons, pin-cushion covers, and draperies. It is 46 
inches wide. Price, 45 cents. 

Linen Canvas comes in the same widths and for the 
same price as momie cloth, but is better adapted for the 
German cross stitch and for darned work than momie 
cloth. 

Congress Canvas is a coarse, even-meshed grenadine 
a yard wide. It is an admirable ground for embroidery, 
especially for cross stitch in silks and crewels. Price, 58 
cents a yard. 

German Canvas resembles congress canvas, but has a 
firmer, closer mesh. It comes in white and cream tints, 
18 inches wide. Price, 50 cents. 

Eider Canvas is a pretty texture made by a group of 
threads in one mesh. It is 18 inches wide. Price, 40 
cents. 

Java Canvas consists of groups of threads in close 
meshes, with soft body. It comes in white, cream, gray, 
and other tints. It is especially suitable for cross and 
Holbein stitches. 

Tapestry Canvas is a species of close, firm, repped 
canvas, on which tapestry and Gobelin colors are used. 
It comes from 36 to 122 inches wide. Price, $2.50 and 
$8 a yard. 



MATERIALS. 

Fayal Crash. — This is a very firm linen, gray in 
color, suitable for screens, or anything which requires a 
( firm surface. It is especially good for painting in oils 
or water colors. Outline stitch can also be used on it. 
Width, 18 to 23 inches. Price, 25 to 30 cents. 

Sateen is found in all dark colors. It is not as much 
used as formerly. Width, 50 inches. Price, $2.50. 

Turcoman has a beautiful silk pile resembling che- 
nille. It is found in all colors. Width, 50 inches. 
Price for pile on one side, $2 up ; on both sides, $7.50. 
This in portieres needs no lining. 

Jute Velour resembles Turcoman, but the pile is 
made of linen. The texture is consequently wirier, but 
the effect is very good. Used for hangings, sofa covers, 
and cushions. Price for single-faced, $2.50. 

Bridgewater Cricketing Flannel. ---A thick, soft 
flannel suitable for baby blankets. Designs most effec- 
tive in chenille. Width, 27 inches. Price, $1.30. 

English Eider-Down Flannel. — This comes in colors. 
It has a thick, soft, matted pile. It is also used for baby 
afghans. Price, $1.50. 

Liberty Silks. — These are thin India silks, which 
take their name from the English house that imports 
them. . They come in what are known as art shades, 
and are used in tidies, cabinet and library curtains. 
Width, 36 inches. Price, $1.75. 

Chinese Silks. — Silks greatly resembling those above 
for the same purposes and price. 

American Art Silks equal these in tint and color, and 
are a trifle less in price. These also come in very at- 
tractive designs. 

Silk Tapestry Canvas. — These are 50 inches wide, 
and are used in portieres, curtains, table covers, and 
screens. Price, $6 a yard. 



10 SKILFUL SUSY 

Blue Denim. — In cheap materials nothing is more 
valuable for color. The coarse qualities that sell for 12 
cents a yard are better in color than the finer, of which 
the blue is too intense. 

Japanese Chintz. — This comes in all colors mixed 
-with gold, and is useful in almost every way as a deco- 
rative material. Width, 36 inches. Price, 50 cents. 



EMBROIDERY MATERIALS. 

Embroidery cottons come in all colors, of which most 
are fast ; but the browns, reds, and blues are most satis- 
factory. The French and English cottons have the rep- 
utation of being more durable than the American. The 
French ABC cotton is a little smoother than the other 
cottons. 

The best crewels also are the English and French. 
The former come in the best shades, according to our 
modern ideas. These are what are variously known as 
antique tints and art shades. Crewel by the dozen skeins 
costs 40 cents ; by the single skein, 4 cents ; 12 cents a 
hank. 

Filo-floss. — This is also called wash silk. It comes 
in skeins. Do not get that with black labels, for the 
colors are not warranted. Filo-floss, since it conies in 
strands, can be used for heavy embroidery, or, separated 
into threads, can be used in fine outlining. Price, 8 
cents a skein ; 85 cents by the dozen. 

Filoselle. — This is used for filling, and, coming in 
strands, can also be separated into threads. It comes in 
two qualities — all silk and silk and linen. Filoselle, by 
couching either in single or double strands, makes a de- 



EMBROIDERY MATERIALS. 11 

sirable cord-like outline when the single thread is used in 
the embroidery, thus getting variety of effects with the 
same material. 

Chenille. — This is most suitable for plushes and 
flannel. Different makes have different sized skeins. 
Price, 40 cents a dozen. 

Arrasene. — This is the handsomest and most expen- 
sive of embroidery materials. It resembles chenille, but 
is flat and more suitable for leaves. Price, 35 cents a 
dozen skeins. 

Etching Silk is a very fine silk used in outlining on 
doylies. Price, 6 cents a spool. 

Gold Thread. — This is both coarse and fine. The 
best — the least likely to tarnish — is the Japanese gold 
thread. As gold thread is expensive, it is used generally 
as couching, in which case none is wasted on the wrong 
side. There are grades fine enough to be used in outlin- 
ing, as silk is used. Price, 25 cents a hank ; 20 to 40 
cents a spool. 

Tinsel Cord Balls. — These are found in all colors, 
and have an iridescent effect. They must always be 
couched down, as they are fragile and cannot be dragged 
through stuffs. Used in outlining, they are very effec- 
tive. They can also be crocheted when no strain is re- 
quired. Price, 15 cents a ball. 

Kibbo-sene. — This is a new material, crinkled in text- 
ure, and is used in ribbon work instead of narrow rib- 
bons. Price, 5 cents a skein. 

Braidene is a new ribbon the width of daisy ribbon, 
but with a grain resembling Ottoman ribbon. This is 
used in ribbon work, and gives a feeling of texture ; for 
example, in rendering the large yellow Maximilian 
daisies or in snowballs the effect is better than when 
daisy ribbon is used. 



12 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Metal Ornaments. — Hammered copper coins, gilt 
coins and sequins, stars, and crescents are used as finish 
for decorative articles instead of fringes. Price, 15 to 25 
cents a dozen. 

Spangles are used in embroidery with good effect, es- 
pecially with tinsel cord and arrasene. Price, 10 to 15 
cents a dozen. 

Pine Cones and Button Balls. — These are also used 
as finish for scarf, table covers, and other draperies, by 
covering them with bronze paint. They are suspended 
singly by a cord. 

Tassels. — These of every description can be bought 
in the form of silk pompons, plush cones, plush balls, 
plush crescents, at prices ranging from 90 cents to $2.50 
a dozen. Beautiful tassels are made by combing out 
filoselle or crewel, and giving it a fine flossy effect. 
Short, bell-like tassels made of cream-colored filoselle, 
with gay silk threads of different colors outside, make 
most desirable tassels for light draperies. 



EMBROIDERY STITCHES. 

A few simple . directions and illustrations may not be 
amiss concerning stitches used in embroidery and some 
definition of the terms used in this book. 

Stem Stitch, South Kensington stitch, and feather 
stitch, as it is variously called, is familiar to almost every 
woman. As South Kensington and feather stitch, it is 
used in filling ; as stem stitch and outline stitch, it is 
used in defining forms. In every way it is the most 
valuable and effective stitch used in embroidery. 

Button-hole Stitch, chain stitch, satin stitch, herring- 



EMBROIDERY STITCHES. 



13 





Long Tent Stitches. 



bone stitch, tent stitch, and plain cross stitch need no 
comment. There are, however, a variety of cross 
stitches very valuable. 

Persian Cross Stitch 
has the cross at one end of 
the stitch instead of in the 
centre, and, in fact, is very 
much like the herring-bone 
stitch. 

Long- Tent Stitch is 
agreeably varied by cross- 
ing both ends and by catch- 
ing down the middle by a 
straight stitch. 

Turkish Cross Stitch 
consists of filling in the 
design by gradated cross 

stitches the length that the form demands rather than 
by a number of cross stitches. 




Turkish Cross Stitch. 



14 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Holbein Stitch is used when the stitches can be 
counted. Java canvas is a suitable material. The stitch 
is, in fact, the seamstress 1 back stitch, but used with 
great regularity and in the production of many forms. 
Gilt braid inserted under a Greek fret made in Holbein 
stitch is very effective in making borders. It is useful 
to unite cross stitch with the Holbein stitch. The 
former is used in the ornament within borders of Hol- 
bein stitch. 

Plait Stitch is used also with Holbein and cross stitch 
in geometrical figures on any material in which the 
threads can be counted. 

Darned Stitch, next to outline stitch, is one of the 
most valuable used in embroidery. It is used in two 
ways. In pattern darning the ground is treated with 
darned stitch, which leaves the design in relief. When 
the darned stitch is used as part of the design it indicates 









9 |t! *W&*$3 



AWI 



Darned Stitches. 



the shading. Every housewife who uses prevention 
against the thin places in a stocking knows the stitch. 
In pattern drawing the ground is soon covered with 



EMBROIDERY STITCHES. 



15 



regular stitches of filoselle. In indicating shading em- 
broidery silk or cotton in single strands is more suitable. 
In using darned stitch on the background attention 
must be paid to the tints used, since, as the ground 
shows through, a resultant tint from the union of the two 
colors in the eye is effected. In general the tint used 
should be somewhat darker than the ground. In using 
pongee, for example, one would take a yellowish brown 
filoselle. This, however, is not an absolute rule ; for a 
different tint, but related in quality, as yellowish pink, 
warm pale blue, or olive green, could be judiciously used. 




Cushion Background Stitch. 

The design may be left without an outline, but it is 
perhaps more satisfactory to outline the forms in a still 
deeper tint. Other stitches, if desired, can be used in 
the design, but the simple, broad effect is more pleasing. 

Cushion Background Stitch is, in fact, a species of 
darning, as the illustrations given indicate. This for the 
most part is used on canvas. 

Couching is the term used when the embroidery ma- 
terial is not carried on to the under side of the fabric. 
The crewel, gilt thread, or whatever is used is laid on to 
the tracing, and is caught down by stitches of fine silk. 



It) 



SKILFUL SUSY. 



A great variety of effects is thus secured both in texture 
and color. Bold outlines are obtained by using several 
strands of crewel or double filoselle. Gilt thread and 
tinsel cord are alwa} T s couched down. Solid designs are 
made in this way. Color effects are secured by couching 
in colors, the nearness of the stitch or remoteness giving 
gradations of color. The needle is brought up on side 
of the thread and is put through directly opposite on the 
other side. 



DRAWN WORK. 

This is the refinement of needlework, and can be made 
on fine materials as exquisite as lace. Learn on coarse 
linen. Pull the threads according to the width of the 















No. 1. 



insertion to be made, or if the design is to be in squares 
or groups of threads, draw the threads in that way. The 



DRAWN WORK. 



IT 



simplest form of drawn work is to liem-stitcli the threads 
into groups at each side. The next is to gather these 
groups by threes and 
fours into one thread 
at the centre, using 
chain stitch to hold 
them securely. From 
this point the design 
can be as elaborate as 
one chooses. The 
threads may be drawn 
to the depth of a 
quarter of a yard if 
desired. Illustration 
No. 2, for example, 
can be carried to any 
width. The second 
line in No. 2, it will 
be observed, is carried 
from one side of the 
centre line to the 
other, making a curve. 
Where several lines 
are made when they 
cross the centre line 
between the groups, 
it is well to make the 
centre solid by weav- 
ing over and under 
with a needle and 
thread, or by taking 
the lines in groups. 

In designs like Nos. 1 and 3, which are most suitable 
for bureau covers, the edges of the squares should be 




No. 2. 



18 



SKILFUL SUSY. 







No. 3. 

lightly whipped to keep the threads in place. The de- 
sign Xo. 1 should be done in half-inch squares. 

Drawn work should be done in frames. Linen thread 
is best for this purpose. For coarse material use coarse 
tli read, and vice v< rsa. 



RIBBON WORK. 

Tins is a revival of work carried to great perfection 
by Mario Antoinette and the gay ladies of her court. It 
consists in making dainty flowers and forms out of very 
narrow ribbon, now known to the trade as Daisy ribbon. 
This ribbon is drawn through the goods with a large 
needle, or, if necessary, a hole is first punched. The 
flower is then formed with the lingers. Forget-me-nots, 



DESIGNS. 19 

daisies, and such flowers are the most suitable. The 
outer edge of the petals are caught down with a stitch of 
silk. The foliage can be embroidered if preferred. 

What is known as ribbon work, but improperly, brings 
pieces of silk into use. Wild roses, buttercups, dog- 
wood, rosebuds, are formed by pieces of silk laid on, 
pinched into shape with the fingers, and neatly fastened 
down. Very good effects in drawing are gotten in this 
way. 

Fine imitations of snowballs are given by filling con- 
vex in shape, and then tacking on to it numbers of small 
bits of white daisy silk cut into pieces three quarters of 
an inch long, diagonal at the edges, crossing them, and 
catching them down in the centre with a stitch of yellow 
silk. Pile these one on another. The effect is very 
good. 



DESIGNS. 



Beauty of design is by no means proportioned to the 
amount of labor involved. Some of the most effective 
designs and methods employed are the simplest. Other 
things being equal, conventional designs are better and 
easier than realistic designs. The latter, to be good, 
should be perfect in drawing and color, and this requires 
a knowledge of nature that few have. 

We owe to the Japanese much of our lately acquired 
skill in the choice of design, and also how much may be 
effected in slight ways. A few instances of these will 
not be amiss. 

Disks are circles used singly and in groups, balancing 
one another in a certain area. They are filled in with 
some design. Crescents and other simple forms are used 



20 



SKILFUL SUSY. 



in the same manner. Single flowers, such as the pansy t 
pelargonium, or daisy, are so distributed. 

Crackle or Zigzags are used in breaking up the 
ground, and generally serve also to connect some set 
forms, such as the disks and their substitutes. 

Water Lines indicate, as their name implies, the ex- 
istence of water, and is used to break up the ground in 




connection with aquatic plants and animals. This is not 
obligatory, and they can be used amid other surround- 
ings. 

Cloud Forms. — These are a Japanese fashion of repre- 
senting aerial effects, and serve to break up the surface 
in the way described above. 



DESIGKS. 




22 



SKILFUL SUSY. 



Flights of Birds. — These are another instance of 
forms barely indicated serving a decorative purpose. 

Fret and Double Fret. — It is difficult to trace this 
form to any nation, but it is a most valuable aid in deco- 
ration. 

Spider's Web. — In more realistic forms this is one of 
the most valuable. It will also serve to connect set 
forms, as do crackle lines. 

Renaissance Scrolls. — These scroll forms with floria- 
tions are among the richest decorative forms. They are 
beautifully filled in with couchings of gold thread with 
colored silks, using the deeper tints at the base and 
growing lighter toward the edges. They can also be 
done in Kensington stitch and in outline stitch. 





Arabesques. — These are Moorish forms used in bor- 
ders, and can be executed very much in the same maimer 
as the scrolls spoken of above. 



colo n. 23 

Mosaics.— These are geometrical forms chiefly taken 
from the Moorish decoration. They are very effective 
in applique. Making, we will say, the ground in colored 
silks or brocades, cut out the intersecting forms of plush, 
aud couch them down with crewels. 



COLOE. 

There are two ways of using color— in harmonies and 
by contrasts. Harmonies in color are secured by using 
tints that lead into one another, or with some common 
bond of relationship. For example, you have a piece of 
red plush to embroider. In the groundwork of your 
design use a deeper shade of red, and gradually lighten 
the tints until in the high lights the color is carried up to 
light pinks. If the material is warm in color the reds 
must be kept warm ; if cold, the reds must be kept cold. 

To illustrate a more elaborate harmony of color: we 
have, let us say, a bouquet of roses. The color begins 
at the base in deep red roses, with foliage of dark greens. 
In both the reds and greens there is a filling of yellow- 
that is to say, the colors are warm. Working up from 
the base we add more yellow to the reds and more 
yellow to the greens, each becoming lighter, until, when 
we have reached the top, we may have roses and buds of 
pure warm yellow and tender, yellowish-green foliage. 

To do this requires a certain feeling for color, lest the 
lack of it admits some tint not of the same quality. A 
purplish red or a blue green would make a discord just 
as would a false note in music. 

Contrasts in color consist of putting colors in juxtapo- 
sition, such as red, green, blue, yellow, purple— colors 



'-i-4 SKILFUL SUSY. 

not immediately related. In using colors by contrast it 
is of paramount importance that, no matter how different 
the colors, the same quality of color must be preserved. 
The great division of tints into cold and warm must be 
regarded. If any one will study for a short time those 
modern colors known to us as antique tints, or the frank 
use of color made by the Japanese, they will get an ap- 
preciation of this distinction. The Japanese bring the 
most diverse colors together with unerring instinct by 
simply observing this one fact. To illustrate its neces- 
sity, place a bit of old-fashioned cherry on a piece of 
stuff in which are warm reds and greens. The discord 
is at once felt. Colors are warm through yellow and 
cold through blue. This is a distinction sufficiently 
broad for ordinary use. 

Something lias been said of resultant tints. These are 
the union of different colors in the eye, producing an 
entirely different tint. Thus, a small design in positive 
blue stencilled on a bright brick-dust hue produces a 
purple in the eye. The use of tints this way by couch- 
ing gilt thread with colored silks — red, blue, purple — 
produces a beautiful flash of color like none of the tints 
used. Shading in flowers by irregular stitches of differ- 
ent colors showing the ground beneath is effected in this 
way. If one studies the petals of a natural flower it will 
be observed that the lines of shading vary in tint. No 
better <niide can be recommended. 



PAINTS, AND HOW TO USE TP1EM. 

Oil paints to be used on stuffs should be first placed 
on coarse brown paper, that it may absorb the superflu- 
ous oil, and thus avoid running. In using oil paints on 



PAINTS, AND HOW TO USE THEM. 25 

plush it is necessary to have ;i stiff brush. In painting a 
large leaf the palette-knife, for laying on the paint, may 
be used to advantage. 

Use water color in thin washes. Sizing and other 
media destroy the transparency. If necessary, put a little 
gum-arabic in the water. Use water with care. It is a 
good plan after clipping the brush in water to draw it 
across a piece of soap before putting it in the paint. 
This keeps the water from running. Take up no more 
paint than is necessary on the brush. 

Always draw with the brush if possible. It saves time, 
and gives a certain freedom to the design. This demands, 
however, a certain facility ; and if the hand is not sure use 
tracing-paper. In using light colors on dark grounds it 
is necessary to use Chinese white underneath the color. 

Aniline dyes are used for transparent washes on thin 
curtains, draperies, tidies, and linen goods. These are 
desirable, as the tint becomes part of the fabric and will 
not fade. Buy the dry aniline dyes that are soluble in 
alcohol, using just enough of the spirit to take up the 
dye. Bottle the solution. In using it dilute or reduce 
to the tint desired. The dyes that are only soluble in 
alcohol are brighter and more durable than those that 
will dissolve in water. 

Lustra paints are bronze powders of various hues, 
which give prismatic effects when applied. They are 
sold at prices varying from 15 to 25 cents a bottle or 
package, and with a medium, costing 15 cents a bottle. 
With this medium the powder is mixed to the consis- 
tency of cream, and should be applied with a good stiff 
brush. When used on smooth surfaces the paint should 
be thinned ; on rough surfaces, such as velveteen or 
plush, mix it stiff er, and take care in applying it that it 
shall not appear streaky. 



26 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Flitter and Brocade arc iridescent powder paints. 
The design is first covered with a thin white varnish ; 
on this the powder is sprinkled. The effect is much 
more glistening and brilliant than lustra painting, and is 
equally permanent. They can be used on any surface, 
such as baskets, bottles, palm-leaf fans, crocheted work, 
pine cones, or other rustic ornaments. 

Gobelin Tapestry Paints. — These are bought in 
liquid form. They cannot be diluted. The lightest 
shades are reached by using them very thin. Deeper 
tints are secured by repeating the color. 



. SUGGESTIONS. 

Do not have embroidery frames too large to handle 
conveniently. If the material is larger than the frame, 
and will crease by rolling, baste a piece of cotton on the 
under side of the materia], and fasten the cotton to the 
frame. This will admit of stretching without injuring 
the stuff. 

If the embroidery cannot be pressed out without in- 
jury and is a little pulled, dampen the wrong side with 
the following mixture : Gum arable, one ounce ; water, 
three ounces ; one teaspoonful of sugar ; two teaspoon- 
fuls of alcohol. Let it dry in the frame. 

The same mixture can be used with water colors on 
fabrics where there is danger of their running. 

In embroidering or painting mottoes or texts as a part 
of decoration, group the letters or words irregularly. 
Make the first letter of the prominent words in large 
capitals. 

Etching on linen, as it is called, is done with a fine 
brush and India ink. 



SUGGESTIONS. 27 

At almost all stores where artists 1 materials can be 
had, small ornaments in holly-wood, such as fans, cres- 
cents, paddles, oars, boxes, plaques, lawn-tennis bats, 
palettes, racks, rolling-pins, irons, rudders, easels, wood 
bellows, sickles, needle-book covers, anchors, can be 
1) ought. 

Patterns for doylies, tidies, bureau covers, and for 
flannel skirts can be bought, and the designs transferred 
to the material by pressing with a warm iron. 

The old-fashioned method of pouncing to transfer de- 
signs is still practised. Trace the pattern with pin-holes, 
and if desired to preserve it, prick it on to flannel with a 
needle fastened into a piece of cork. Make a pad of 
pieces of flannel cloth folded firmly. Dip this into pow- 
dered charcoal and go over the pattern on the stuff, 
blowing off the superfluous powder. Trace the pattern 
after with a fine brush or pencil. 

Embroidery on wash goods is effective when the out- 
line is done in color with an inner line of white, and the 
veining also done in white. 

Patterns for bears, elephants, rabbits, camels, mice, 
horses, pigs, etc., to be made of Canton flannel for chil- 
dren, can be bought at pattern stores, with instructions 
for their use. 

Such forms as maple leaves may be better outlined by 
using long and short stitch perpendicularly instead of the 
usual outline stitch. 

Lace may be made more ornamental by painting the 
pattern in water color, or by the use of bronze paints. 
In this way it can be toned into the color of the material 
it trims. 

Designs cut out of cretonne and over- worked with silk 
and tinsel cord are used on the most expensive materials. 

The cut forms for paper flowers, with directions how 



28 SKILFUL SUSY. 

to make them, can be bought. Use paste, not mucilage, 
in sticking tissue paper. 

Plush flowers that are bought can be used for set fig- 
ures connected by crackle lines with good effect. 

Tendrils are made by using two rows of filoselle and 
couching it down. 

Buy shoemakers' paste to use in pasting embroidery 
when it is to be appliqued on the ground. 

Endeavor always to utilize materials at hand. They 
often suggest new ways of doing things that prove very 
desirable. 

Learn to find designs in head-pieces and tail-pieces in 
books and magazines, on pieces of stuffs, books, covers. 

Never attempt to put on paint in decoration evenly. 
( 'harm lies in variety of tint. In using metallic tints 
this should be especially observed. 



HOUSEHOLD DBAPEPJES. 

Portieres. — It is impossible to describe the numerous 
ways in which these are made. For summer, Madras 
muslin and India cottons are very suitable and no 
trouble. A suitable decoration for the upper part of a 
portiere is a network of fringe, with long, irregular tas- 
sels ; these are made of skeins of crewel or of silk. 
Never put tassels or fringe on the bottom of a portiere ; 
but on the handsomest portieres a network of these are 
put on the curtain high enough not to hang below the 
edge. Twisted and braided strands of crewel and silk 
with loose ends and of irregular lengths are used often 
instead of fringe. 

Very simple decoration is all that is required on por- 



HOUSEHOLD DRAPERIES. 29 

tieres, as the folds obscure the design. Disks and cres- 
cents outlined and darned inside are very good ; also large 
flowers washed in disks or embroidered by simply indi- 
cating the lines of shading. 

Hag Silk Portieres may be made attractive by 
arranging the colors properly. Mass a great deal of gray 
silk together for bars, and fill in with masses of bright 
colors. Yellows are very good. Dye old white ribbons 
yellow and red with the prepared dyes. 

Portieres of Tapestry Canvas, with applique of 
plush circles connected by plush bars, fastened with 
couchings of double filoselle, are extremely handsome and 
easily made. 

Batiste Curtain. — Draw the design either as a border 
or as cross bands. A large, flowing, continuous pattern 
is advisable, or oblong sections containing geometrical 
lines. Wash in the colors with aniline dyes. Outline 
the forms with silk of the same color, but a darker shade 
than is used in the wash. Simply hem the curtain, and 
finish with bell tassels. 

India Silk Curtain. — A curtain of a pale terra-cotta 
tint has the design in an open-petal led flower and foliage. 
The color is washed in in deeper tones, and the outline is 
in tinsel cord. This should be done in a frame. 

Vestibule Curtain. — Ecru Chinese silk. Draw geo- 
metrical designs, concentric circles, and such forms, and 
outline in dark red silk. 

Book-Case Curtains.— Make the curtains of yellow 
silk, and simply hem and finish with little bell tassels of 
combed-out filoselle mixed with gilt. 

Cabinet Curtains. — Make these daintily of pale Nile 
green, shrimp pink, turquoise blue, or some thin silk 
that will be in harmony with the surroundings. Cover 
these with lines of gilt crackle. 



30 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Bed Spreads. — Take a piece of Bolton sheeting the 
required length. Have it stamped with a large " all- 
over" pattern of conventionalized peonies. Outline the 
flowers in an open button-hole three quarters of an inch 
deep ; the button-hole shows the goods between the 
stitches. Use crewel of dull light red. Vein the flowers 
and leaves in outline stitch. Use heavy strands of the 
crewel in couchings to indicate the other bold forms. It 
is much more work, but the effect is very line to darn 
the ground in several strands of the crewel. Make a 
border all around with lines of outline stitch in groups. 
Edge with deep Smyrna lace. 

Linen Bed Spread. — Make a border by drawing 
threads, and an edge by fringing out the linen. Across 
the lower end of the spread draw a design of locust 
branch, with leaves, flowers, and twigs. Do the twigs 
in brown silks, solid in Kensington stitch. The leaves 
are also solid Kensington stitch in greens. The flowers 
are in shaded pinks. In the upper part of the spread 
indicate the ends of branches, and embroider in the same 
way. In the spaces draw broken bits of sprays and 
flowers, and here and there a single leaf or flower. The 
border is filled up with these bits. This is ambitious 
work, but may suggest other work in kind not so diffi- 
cult. In doing these large pieces it is better to get out 
long disused quilting frames. The work can be kept 
much smoother and neater in frames. As a suggestion, 
use disks in the ornament inclosing flowers — clover blos- 
soms, for example. Make Japanese water marks or sky 
marks in the spaces. 

La'MBREQUINS. — Plush, velvet, and velveteen are the 
suitable materials for mantel lambrequins. Felt is no 
longer used, being ugly in texture and attracting moths. 
Draped lambrequins are the prettiest. Often these are 



HOUSEHOLD DRAPERIES. Si 

of stuff alone, without any finish or ornament, the beauty 
lying in the folds, which are easily kept in place. Every 
mantel should have a hoard to rest on top, on which the 
lambrequin is draped. 

Plush Lambrequin. — Take two pieces of dark blue 
plush, each half the length of the mantel. On each of 
these arrange sprigs of flowers cut out of lace patterns, 
and embroider them on with colored silks and spangles. 
The eye, assisted by the markings of the pattern, will 
need no further guide. Hem up or line with light blue 
marcelline silk. Finish with bell tassels of silk. Fasten 
the two pieces up, making them meet in the centre, 
where a large bow of wide blue satin or brocaded ribbon 
is placed. Gather back each piece curtain-wise about half 
way down, and fasten. Let the ends hang straight. 

Portable Lambrequin. — Lay on a mantel-board a 
piece of gray plush. Drape, leaving deep scollop in the 
centre. \Vhere this ends fasten yellow Chinese silk and 
gather it back curtain-wise ; tie with yellow ribbons, 
and stick in peacock feathers. 

Bracket Lambrequin. — Take Madras muslin a quarter 
of a yard deep. Outline the designs with silver tinsel 
cord, and vein with silks, covering the design thinly. 
Finish with a fringe, with tinsel in the fringe. 

Table Cover of crimson tapestry canvas. Make the 
border of two rows of circles and bars placed four inches 
apart in length, and two inches apart in height. These 
are an applique of crimson plush couched down with 
deep red filoselle doubled. Tassels at each corner. 

Holbein Table Cover. — This is a gray linen fringed 
and knotted at the edges. The design is copied in Hol- 
bein and cross stitch in red from the famous table-cover 
in the picture of the Madonna by Holbein in the Dresden 
Gallery. 



32 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Small Table Covers are made of tliin silks in art 
shades, lined and faced up with brocaded silks or hand- 
some Japanese chintzes. 

Tidies. — Never make a tidy that cannot be washed or 
cleaned. Those of thin materials, sneh as bolting cloth 
or grass linen, are the handsomest. Edge them with line 
Smyrna lace. Line with silk. 

Bolting Cloth Tidy. — Take a piece of bolting cloth 
twelve by sixteen inches. Hem with one row of hem- 
stitching. Outline a group of disks in reddish brown. 
Wash in the disks a pale red, and paint in each a wild 
rose in deeper tints. In some disks show the flower in 
perspective ; in others only part of the flower. Con- 
nect the various disks by irregular lines. This method 
of treating bolting cloth tidies may be varied in tints and 
design. 

Chinese Grass Linen Tidy. — Take an oblong piece 
of grass cloth twenty-four by fourteen inches. Define a 
border by two rows of outline stitching four inches 
apart. In the border arrange small disks in the manner 
illustrated. Outline these disks with outline stitch. Fill 
them with darned stitch of yellowish-pink filoselle. Use 
a deeper tint in the outline. Below this border make a 
border of drawn work, and finish with lace. 

Ivy Leaf Tidy. — Make a tidy similar to that above, 
and use ivy leaf forms just as disks are used. They 
should be veined instead of darned. Clover leaves can 
be used in the same way, and sweet-brier will also serve. 

Grass Linen Square Tidy. — Take a square piece of 
grass linen, hem and hem-stitch it all around. Em- 
broider in the centre a group of roses as if lying in a 
heap. Use silk and satin stitch. Ileds and yellows "are 
the best combinations. 

German Canvas Tidy. — Scarf tidy twenty-seven 



HOUSEHOLD DRAPERIES. 33 

inches long. Draw out at eacli end groups of threads wide 
enough to admit the narrowest ribbon. Leave a space just 
a little less wide. Make a stripe in this way, and weave 
colored ribbons in and out. A border of drawn work 
on each side is an addition. Fringe out the stuff a 
finger's length deep at the ends. 

Holbein Tidy. — An oblong tidy made of German 
canvas twenty-seven inches long. Each end is embroid- 
ered almost a quarter of a yard deep with a conventional 
border of red and blue in Holbein and cross stitch. 
Fringe out the ends. 

Scaef Tidy. — Take a strip of India silk or the 
American silk of the same texture a yard and a half 
long. What are known as art shades are more attractive. 
Such are yellow-pinks, green-blues. Define a border 
by four rows of outline stitch, or by couching tinsel 
cord. The design inside is groups of dogwood blossoms 
arranged just as disks are used. If the border is couched 
in tinsel cord the flowers are treated in the same way. 
If the border is outlined, we will say, in red, the silk 
being yellow pink, the flowers should be also outlined. 
Put the centres in knot stitch. The ends are hemmed, 
and edged with fluffy tassels made by combing out 
filoselle and covering with gay threads. When finished 
the centre is gathered up in two loops and tied with a 
satin ribbon matching the tint. 

Pongee Tidy. — Take a strip of pongee a yard and a 
half long ; fringe out the ends ; make a heading by knot- 
ting. Embroider in silks a stiff little row of violets, 
buttercups, and primroses, with foliage. Tie into a scarf 
tidy. 

Pongee Tidy. — Oblong tidy with a border, in which 
are daisies made by couching double white filoselle, with 
centres of knot stitch in yellow filoselle. Begin by tak- 



34 SKILFUL SUSY. 

ing the white filoselle from the centre and catching it 
down at the circumference. The daisy can be drawn in 
every way in this manner. 

Transparent Tidy. — An oblong piece of bolting cloth 
hemmed with hem-stitch. Wash in pale browns and 
yellows a design of horse-chestnut leaves and burs. Out- 
line with brown silk. This is exquisite in design and 
color. 

Chair Back. — Take two pieces of gay sprigged cre- 
tonne. Measure them by the size of a plain wooden 
chair. Put them together and bind the edges with rib- 
bons. Put bows at the two upper corners. These chair 
backs are intended to slip over one's chair in a public 
dining-room during the summer to protect the backs of 
delicate dresses from the chair backs, that are apt to be 
soiled by the waiters' fingers. 

More ornamental chair backs are made of Swi s, 
sprigged or plain, and have the initials embroidered in 
outline stitch. Two constitute a set, since they occa- 
sionally require washing. 

Splashers. — Aquatic designs very appropriately are 
used on splashers. Water-lilies, storks among flags, done 
in outline stitch on momie cloth, are very useful. De- 
signs can be bought of boats, with children and boating 
parties of grown people. Children on the beach, with 
water-lines indicating the sea, are also used. Broken 
water-lines, with set shells and sea-weed interspersed, are 
suitable. A border with these for the centre put around 
a splasher is good. Conventional designs appeal to the 
eye longer than the outline sketches. A splasher put be- 
neath a looking-glass can have embroidered on it Burns's 
lines : 

" wad some power the giftie gie us 
To see oursel's as ithers see us." 



THE DINING-ROOM. 35 



THE DINING-ROOM. 

Buffet Covers. — These are necessary on every buffet 
or sideboard with a marble top against possible break- 
age ; otherwise they are suitable and befitting a dining- 
room. Undoubtedly the revival of antique furniture has 
brought into vogue old customs. Linen is always used. 
Butchers' linen is most commonly employed, the grain 
being prominent. Fine linen can be wrought into cov- 
ers like lace work. The ends are fringed and knotted as 
a finish. Outline stitch in white, red, and blue is gener- 
ally used in the decoration. The fringe and ornament 
are at the ends. Usually a suitable motto is carried across. 

Crescent Buffet Cover. — Long strip of butchers' 
linen fringed at the ends. Scattered over it are crescents 
in groups of one, twos, and threes arranged like disks. 
These are in outline stitch in blue and darned centres. 

Drawn Buffet Cover. — Take a strip of fine linen ; 
fringe the edges ; make a band of insertion of drawn 
work, like design No. 3, not less than one eighth of a 
yard wide. It may be fully a quarter of a yard. The 
ornament must hang over the sides. 

Dutch Buffet Cover. — The name comes from the 
design copied from old Dutch cloths. These are usually 
maids serving, men and women drinking, in connection 
with much florid ornament. The outlines are double in 
two colors. The leaves and flowers are filled with work. 
Often there are cross diagonal lines of white caught down 
at the intersections with a stitch of color. The draperies 
of the figures are all indicated in lines of color. Dutch 
texts are introduced in the ornament. 

Tea Cloths and Tray Cloths. — The fashion of after- 
noon teas and little tables demand tea cloths and tray 



36 SKILFUL SUSY. 

cloths. These are usually square, and are fringed all 
around. They may be simply hemmed with a line of 
hem-stitching. A band of drawn work, as designs Nos. 
1 and 2, are as handsome and dainty as one can desire. 
In designs outline stitch with line etching silk or filo- 
iloss and cottons warranted to wash should be used. 

Scarf Tea Cloth.— This is oblong; the ends are 
fringed as in a buffet cover. A design in Dutch work 
across the edge is very suitable. A conventional pat- 
tern, as Greek fret, may be introduced all around, or 
arrange disks all over the cloth, in which are small 
ewers or champagne glasses or cups and saucers in out- 
line sketch. 

Square Tea Cloth. — This is ornamented at the corner 
with four little girls seated eating from out a bowl in 
outline stitch in red. 

Jack Horner Tea Cloth. — This design and that 
above are suitable for children's table. The design 
relates the history of Jack Horner in the corners. First, 
he sits in the corner with his pie. He puts in his 
thumb. He pulls out a plum. Then he is tilled with 
admiration of himself. 

Designs for Corners. — These can be bought. Most 
suitable are sets of tea things ; ewers and glasses ; 
dishes filled with oysters, fruit ; salad bowl and spoon ; 
celery glass with celery ; game hanging from knots of 
ribbon. Conventional designs are palm leaves, crackle 
lines, broken straight and horizontal lines connecting set 
figures. A list of suitable mottoes is given in another 
place. The work should all be daintily done. 

Doylies. — These should not be over six inches square, 
since their only use is to protect the fruit-plate from 
being scratched by the finger-bowl. They should be of 
the sheerest finest linen bolting cloth or pineapple silk, and 



THE DININOt-ROOM. 37 

the edges always fringed three quarters of an inch deep. 
Make them in sets of six or a dozen. Choose a coherent 
series of designs, but make each doyly different. Pine- 
apple silk doyly can be ornamented in water colors or 
dyes. Use silk or cotton on linen that will not fade in 
washing. Etching silk, as it is called, for this purpose, 
is spoken of in the chapter on embroidery materials. It 
is used in outlining, and has the effect of a pen-and-ink 
drawing, the sketch is so fine. 

Designs for Doylies. — Make a set in outline stitch, in 
which fans of all kinds shall be sprinkled over the sur- 
face. Jugs, teapots, vases, flower-pots in antique blues, 
pinks, greens, and reds will make another series. Dif- 
ferent flowers, with bits of foliage, single petals strewn 
apparently at haphazard over the texture, sea-weeds, 
and shells form another series for doylies. Kate Greena- 
way figures, now so accessible in cuts of every descrip- 
tion, will complete another series. Designs of fruits, 
decanters, and glasses are admirable. 

Drawn Work Doylies. — Nothing is more exquisite 
than these. The chapter on drawn work gives suitable in- 
structions. Simple doylies are made by a band of threads 
three quarters of an inch drawn, and the edges button- 
holed to keep the threads in place. Inside work a row of 
forget-me-nots in blue silk. 

Tea Cosies. — The Japanese send us tea cosies that 
can be easily made by taking a piece of cotton batting, 
glazed side out. Lay on it a piece of thin silk as a lining. 
Mould or press this into a shape which will cover over the 
tea-pot. It will be about eighteen inches wide and twelve 
high for an ordinary sized tea-pot. Bind the lower 
open edges with some pretty substantial stuff. Japanese 
chintz with gold is what our neighbors use. The glazed 
cotton part is painted lightly in water colors. 



38 SKILFUL SUSY. 

English Tea Cosies.- — These are a part of the furni- 
ture of every English table. They are the shape as de- 
scribed above. The outsides may be either of quilted 
silk or embroidered, as the fancy may dictate. 

Egg Cosies. — These are suitable presents for bachelors. 
Take three pieces of white or colored satin four and a 
half inches wide, six inches high ; taper to a point ; em- 
broider or paint each piece. A young fluffy chicken out- 
lined by short, irregular strokes, either with paint or 
the needle, is a good design for one piece ; on another 
paint an empty shell ; on the third ornamental letters 
or initials. Line these pieces with a thin layer of cotton ; 
sew together, and cover the seams with gold cord. Line 
with thin silk. The shape is something that of a bishop's 
hat, but three-sided. Surmount with a little gold tassel. 



SCREENS. 

Screens. — Any carpenter can make the frame. If it 
is to be covered it will not require any finish. If not 
covered, have it of oak, cherry, ash, or walnut. Pine 
frames are good treated with ebony or cherry frames. 
It is a pretty fashion to have the upper part of the frame 
divided by a bar, and diamond or square lattice work 
inserted. The panels may be covered with fayal crash, 
cartridge paper, matting, split bamboo, rough canvas, 
gunny bags, old coffee sacking, or, in fact, with what- 
ever is most convenient. Stretch the stuff smoothly, and 
tack on the edges furniture gimp. 

Cartridge Paper Screen. — Two-leaved screen, each 
leaf covered on each side with gray cartridge paper. 
Paint in oils on athwart the leaf a branch of wisteria, 



SCREENS. 39 

large broad leaves and large clusters of flowers. On the 
reverse side, a tall towering stalk of cactus with deep 
red flowers. On the opposite side paint branches of pine 
and pine cones. On the reverse side of this leaf put the 
trumpet creeper, foliage and flowers. The painting 
should be done in broad, easy style. 

Matting Screen. — A^ery broad two-leaved screen for 
concealing entrance to kitchen in country house. Cover 
the panels with fine matting, such as cost fifty or sixty 
cents a yard. Paint across both leaves horizontal 
branches of grape-vine and fruit. 

Bagging Screen. — Cover with coarse bagging. Gild 
the panels, and overlay here and there with very thin 
reds and blue glazes, which give a sort of iridescence to 
the texture. Outline here disks singly and in groups in 
brown red. Paint in these in some design, such as a 
large flower or geometrical figures. On the ground put 
Japanese water marks — that is to say, broken lines in 
brown red and deep blue. If more work is wanted, 
large branches of fruit, oranges, apples, peaches, and 
plums are very effective. 

Fatal Crash Screens. — Cover the panels with this 
material after it has been embroidered in outline stitch. 
A three-leaved fayal crash screen, with conventional de- 
signs of Juno, Venus, and Minerva in bold red outline 
stitch, is very nice. This is a low screen, not over two 
feet and a half high. 

Burlap Screens. — Cover the frame with burlap nailed 
tightly on. Outline some large flower and leaves all over 
the screen in gold. Put this in in each leaf in color. 
For example, on one leaf the flower will be in dull reds 
on a blue ground ; on another, dull blue on red ground. 
These tints always change in intensity. Let it be a car- 
dinal rule never to attempt to preserve a uniform tint. 



40 SKILFUL SUSY". 

Mix gold also with the tints. It is a good idea to un- 
derlie all the color with gold, and then allow it to shine 
through. 

Gunny Bag Screens. — Cover the screen with gnnny 
bagging. Use the screen as a receptacle for palette scrap- 
ings. It is wonderful what fine effects can be had in this 
way — shining masses of color. It will, of course, take some 
time to finish. Such a screen should be in every stndio. 

Burlap Screens. — Cover a frame with ordinary bur- 
lap. The color of this is very good, but it is usually 
treated in some way. A good way is to cut out the fig- 
ures in cretonne. These are now so large that they are 
well adapted for this purpose. Japanese and Chinese 
designs, with figures, temples, and trees, with screaming, 
bright-hued birds, are often large enough to cover a 
screen. These are pasted on, and the edges button-holed 
loosely with crewel. 

Watteau Screens have a plain wooden frame painted 
with enamel white paint. Touch it up with gold. Buy 
French cretonne in Watteau designs, shepherdesses, and 
fine ladies in landscape. Such a combination makes an 
attractive drawing-room screen, now that Louis XVI. 
styles are in vogue. 

Nursery Screen.- — Cover with burlap, and paste on 
every sort of picture, Christmas or Easter card. 



WOOD WORK. 

Dressing Table. — Have a carpenter make an oblong 
or semicircular frame for the table, with a straight board 
going up the back on which to attach the mirror. Cover 
the table back and flounce to the floor with pink or blue 



WOOD WORK. 41 

cambric. Make a puff or cover the mirror frame with 
the cambric. Use for outside covers dotted muslin 
edged with lace, and from the top over the mirror drape 
one long piece of muslin as curtains. This will serve as 
a model. India silk and flowered chintz can be also 
used. These prettily made would prove very saleable. 

Baby's Rattle. — Have turned a smooth round stick a 
foot long and as thick as your finger. Wind this with 
ribbons. On the head fasten a bow of the same colors, 
and at the bottom tack four narrow ribbons so that there 
will be eight ends of different lengths. On the end of 
each ribbon attach a little brass ball or bell. This makes 
also a pretty favor for the German. 

"Wooden Two-shoes are used for match safes. They 
are made ornamental by gilding, with bows painted on, 
and are hung by ribbons. 

Wooden Eggs, with holes bored in, are also used for 
match safes. The ornament consists of two chickens 
sketched on in light touches. Being exactly alike, they 
are " matches." The egg is suspended by ribbons nailed 
on at each side and tied in a bow. 

Brass Ladders are used to mount thermometers. A 
support comes with the ladder such as accompany easels 
and photograph frames, but also of brass. 

Key and Scissors Back. — Take an oblong panel of 
wood eight inches long and five inches wide. Bevel the 
edges, or define with a gilt line. Screw in a row of little 
brass hooks. Below paint some design in water colors. 
The most popular ornament is the following verse in 
fancy letters : 

" Hang on this rack whatever you please — 
Button-hooks, scissors, and all of your keys. 
To keep you from losing, here is my art, 
You never can lose the key to my heart." 



42 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Hang it by rings or suspend by a ribbon. The rack may 
be covered with plush or brocaded goods instead of being 
decorated. Wooden padlocks are used as key racks. 
Sometimes they are covered with delicate plushes, the 
key -hole represented in gilt paint. A bow of ribbon is 
tied on the handle. Other forms are painted, black and 
white being used on the wood. A favorite device is an 
owl on a branch, with a crescent moon. Underneath are 
the lines : 

" Bird of wisdom, pray guard me 
Against the loss of time or key ;" 

or, 

" Shun the fate of Mother Hubbard, 
Nor lose the key that locks the cupboard ;" 

or, 

" Lose the key, and very soon 
You're out of time and out of tune." 

Small rolling-pins are made for dainty key racks. Sev- 
eral bars of music are drawn in on black on a gilt 
ground. Below is printed : 

" Until the proper key is found, 
Music is but discordant sound." 

Milking Stools. — Have a carpenter make old-fash- 
ioned milking stools, in which the three legs meet in the 
centre. Paint them a solid color, gild or bronze. Paint 
in the centre bouquets of daisies, roses, chrysanthemums, 
or geometrical designs, as in dull reds and blues on gold. 

Chopping-Bowl Plaque. — Gild the inside, using a 
good deal of red in the gilt, and allow it to lighten tow- 
ard the outer edge. Draw overlapping disks here and 
there with brown umber. In these disks outline great 
Howers, almost filling the disks. Allow large leaves in 



WOOD WORK. 43 

outline and filled in with greenish gilt to spring up, as it 
were, from one part of the edge around the disk. Op- 
posite to this make a group of lines at right angles and 
about a part of a disk at the edge. 

Cigar Boxes. — Boxes of satin-wood and other fancy 
woods wide enough to lay the cigars in crosswise are 
decorated in water colors. Choose some pretty scroll 
design, and paint in reds and browns. This should be 
arranged as a border on top, and run around the sides. 
Enclosed in the border paint a monogram, initials, or the 
word cigars. The effect of the whole decoration is that 
of illumination. 

Cigarette Boxes. — These are made like the above, 
the size being adapted to cigarettes, and the design pro- 
portioned accordingly. Conventional ornament is much 
more appropriate than flowers. 

Card Counters. — These in white wood can be bought. 
The form is that of two palm leaves at different angles, 
with a crescent joining them. On one side paint around 
the palm small points of different colors. Between each 
point put a number up to ten in gilt, surrounded by a 
black circle. Draw fan lines in color down to the stick. 
Around the other palm paint the spot cards at different 
angles, and between each the numbers again. Draw the 
same fan lines again. On each palm is a small sword on 
a pivot as counter which must be silvered. Tie a small 
bow of ribbon on to the crescent. The same motto given 
for card boxes is here most appropriately introduced. 
The white holly form of the card counter can be bought 
at shops where such articles in wood for decorative pur- 
poses are sold. 

Clothes-Pin Napkin Bolder. — Gild old-fashioned 
clothes pins. Ornament with geometrical lines in blue 
and Indian red. Hold the napkin flat and slip in. 



44 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Thermometer Iron. — This is made of wood in the 
shape of an ordinary flat-iron, and painted black or given 
a coat of copper bronze. Another flat piece of wood the 
shape of the bottom is covered with crimson plush, and 
embroidered or painted. This is done toward one side ; 
on the other a flat thermometer is screwed. This piece 
is then fastened on to the bottom of the iron, which sits 
on ends. 

Thermometer Panel. — A thin panel of white wood, 
with bevelled edge and a support for the back. The 
thermometer is fastened on to one side. The other is 
decorated with some flower and foliage. Beneath is 
painted in ornamental letters : 

" A silver ball in a crystal tube, 
And it gently ebbs and flows 
To mark the strength of the north wind's blast, 
Or time the bloom of the rose." 



FANCY CHAIES. 



Splint Sewing Chairs. — Take a plain, straight-back, 
low, splint-bottom rocking-chair. Make cushions for 
the back and seat of gray linen. But first on the back 
and seat draw designs of the pumpkin vine and flower. 
Outline these with brown. Wash in the leaves in thin 
transparent green and the flowers in yellow. Use of 
both colors a variety of tints. On the leaves, for exam- 
ple, there may be splotches of light yellow-green, as are 
seen in leaves lying in sunlight. Tie on with bows of 
yellow and green satin ribbon. 

Or, instead of gray linen, take yellowish green velve- 
teen. Line it with ticking and fasten it down tightly for 



FRAMING PICTURES. 45 

the seat. But first ornament both seat and back with 
circles divided into geometrical forms, and paint these in 
in dull reds and blues. Moorish forms will give good 
ideas for such decoration. Make eyelets in the backs, 
and lace the back tightly on around the frame with silk 
cord of the tint of the ground. Brown velveteen or 
dark green and blue velveteen are good colors for such 
work. 

Child's Rocking-Chair. — Take a strip of tapestry 
canvas and paint on it a spider's web and some vines. 
Make this into a cushioned back for a plain little wooden 
rocking-chair. Make a cushion to match. These may 
be made even handsomer by using richer materials. 

Plain, rough, little wood rocking-chairs are painted 
black and varnished, or any solid tint, and ornamented 
with flowers on the back and seat. Paint also the word 
" Baby" in ornamental letters in gilt. Very pretty 
chairs are also made by stencilling simple patterns on the 
back in colors. 

Old Chairs. — These can be made very attractive by 
repainting in solid color, stencilling on designs on the 
back, and covering the seat with cushions of blue or 
crimson velours. 

Steamer Chairs. — Take off one arm, that they may 
be sat in with less trouble. Paint them with enamel 
black paint. Make cushions of gay cretonne or more 
handsome material, and swing a head cushion by a ribbon 
around the top. 

FRAMING PICTURES. 

There is no present more acceptable and no article 
more saleable than a picture. Photography reproduces 
works of art so perfectly that a good photograph is much 



46 SKILFUL SUSY. 

more desirable than an ordinary engraving. Pictures 
should be framed with reference to their subject. This 
gives the ingenuity great scope. A few examples will 
suffice. 

The picture is a photograph of a harvest scene. The 
frame is of rough wood, which the tools have given ad- 
ditional roughness. In one corner is a small sickle. 
The blade is made by taking out the wood in the re- 
quired shape. This can easily be done with a hot poker, 
the form having been previously drawn. The blade is 
also sunk, but the roundness of the handle is indicated 
by slight curves. 

A marine is framed in rough boards ; over this a white 
net is drawn tight. Through rings in the corners a rope 
is passed. This or all may be gilded or silvered. 

Another marine framed in pine has three small ropes 
stretched over the frames, weaving in one another at the 
corners and securely fastened. 

A fishing boat with figures is framed in fine white and 
red split bamboo, with an outer rim of fishing-rod bam- 
boo crossing and projecting at the corners. 

A hunting scene is framed in plain wood, and for this 
purpose Georgia pine, which has rich grain and color, is 
good. Across the corners are leather straps and buckles, 
or braided leather with tasselled ends hang down the 
sides, and are all silvered. 

A photograph of some musical subject has a plain, 
smooth wood frame, which may be also gilded or sil- 
vered. In each corner there is a bridge, over which 
wires are stretched. 

A moonlight scene has a band of blue plush next a 
mat of silvered matting. Then comes a band of blue 
plush, and around all a moulded wooden frame silvered. 

Photographs of the head of the Madonna, by Carlo 



FRAMING PICTURES. 47 

Dolce, are framed similarly, except with black velvet in- 
stead of blue. 

Tea-chest matting and basket matting are used largely 
for picture mats, and take gold and silver paint with fine 
effect. 

A Japanese picture has a wide split red and white 
bamboo mat, on which Japanese colored figures are 
pasted. 

Wood frames on which Japanese metal ornaments are 
fastened are very rich in effect. 

Japanese stuffs make beautiful coverings for frames, 
especially in ecru, red and blue with gold. The stuff is 
simply laid on in pleats, more or less close together, and 
tacked on the outer edge, and the pleats arranged to cor- 
respond in the lesser distance of the inside. This is 
work that any woman can easily do. 

Large-figured cretonnes and other French upholstery 
goods are used in the same way. The Morris stamped 
velveteens also make beautiful coverings for frames. 
These are better laid plain, except with the necessary 
fulness at the corners. 

Photographs of pictures with women in modern dress 
are appropriately framed in French upholstery goods. 
An example is of material of blue ground with large 
flower in colors. The material is arranged curtain-wise 
over the frame, and caught back in flat pleats and fast- 
ened down flat at the bottom. The fastening should of 
course be on the reverse side of the frame. This is a 
striking and appropriate manner of framing pictures in 
which women and luxurious accessories are the subject. 

A picture of Charlotte Corday in prison, for example, 
is framed with strips of dark oak. On the left side are 
dark rusty brass representations of hinges, and on the 
other side another piece, which suggests a lock. Brass 



48 SKILFUL SUSY. 

pieces cross the corner. Old bits of brass or iron can be 
used in this way. 

The picture of a soldier in uniform is framed in wood. 
Across the top is a roll of dark blue or green felt with 
leather straps, which are brought down on each side of 
the frame next the glass. The framing is suggestive of 
a soldier's equipment. 



BAGS AND PILLOWS. 

Work Bag. — Take a square of soft satin surah — red, 
blue, or pink — and round the corners. Turn in the edges 
and trim with white lace. On the wrong side an inch 
and a half from the sides run a silk braid, matching the 
tint of the silk, in a circle. This will leave four rounded 
points. Run in the braid twice around a narrow ribbon 
to draw up, bringing the ribbon through a button-hole 
on opposite sides. These bags are especially suitable for 
delicate work to be brought into the drawing-room. 

Large Work Bag. — A bag for large work or where 
a quantity of materials is used is made by taking a strip 
of pongee, brown linen, or more expensive materials 
twenty-seven inches long ; sew up the two edges, leaving 
a slit in the middle. Gather up the ends and finish with 
a bow or tassel. Put on the bag two large brass or bone 
rings two inches or more in diameter to keep the con- 
tents of the two ends separate. 

Grandmother's Work Bag. — A piece of brown satin 
divided into strips four inches wide. Make a bag fourteen 
inches long with these, having sewed in between a strip 
of cretonne having brown flowers. These flowers and the 
other forms have been all previously outlined with tinsel- 



BAGS AND PILLOWS. 49 

cord, having in it dark reds and blues. Draw up with a 
brown satin ribbon. 

Opera-Glass Bag. — Cut a piece of plush and a piece 
of silk three inches deeper than the height of the opera 
glasses and a little more than twice their width ; sew up 
the ends and one side each separately of the plush and 
silk. ( !ut a piece of cardboard the size of the flat bottom 
of the case of the opera glass. Put this into the bottom 
of the plush, with the seam in line with the centre of the 
card. Turn in the ends to make a triangular point, and 
fasten down. This gives the bottom a box-like shape. 
Treat the lining in the same fashion, and sew together. 
Run a draw-string an inch and a half from the top. In- 
sert a ribbon, and bring through button-holed opening at 
the sides. A monogram in couchings of gilt is attractive. 

Party P>ags. — Take a strip of pearl-tinted silk fifteen 
inches long and sixteen inches -wide, and make into a bag. 
Insert a piece of cardboard to protect the back and to 
keep the silk flat. Draw on it in water colors a group 
of white and purple asters and their foliage. Face down 
the top. Insert a draw-string of ribbon of the same 
color. The bag is intended to hold slippers, fan, hand- 
kerchief, and may, of course, be made in other colors, 
materials, and with other decorations. 

Dusting-Cloth Bag. — Take a strip of butchers' linen 
eighteen inches long for the back of the bag. Cut the 
front five or six inches shorter and both six and a half 
inches wide. Sew together ami bind with ribbon. The 
extra length in the back is pointed, and fastens over on 
the front with button and loop. It is swung by ribbons. 
Before making up, the front is embroidered with some 
floral design in silks or in outline stitch. As many women 
do their own nice dusting, a dust-cloth bag is an accept- 
able present. 



50 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Soiled Linen Bag. — Take a piece of tapestry canvas a 
yard long and twenty inches wide and the width of the 
canvas. Take another piece three quarters of a yard 
long, and make a bag of these. The longest piece is 
fringed out at the end, and hangs over the top, fastening 
the bag. Under this end, which falls over, tack a little 
rod of wood. Let the ends project, and point them 
arrow-shape. Tie ribbons at the end by which to sus- 
pend the bag. Amusing designs are painted on these in 
tapestry colors. 

Nursery Linen Bags are made in the same way and 
ornamented with Kate Greenaway figures in tapestry 
colors. Embroidery can be used if desired, and espe- 
cially in outline stitch. 

Lawn-Tennis Bag. — Make of gray linen the size to 
hold the balls. Ornament it with crossed bats done in 
outline stitch, filling in the racket with net like cross- 
ings in outline stitch. Below this indicate the net in the 
same manner. Embroidery for outdoor articles are more 
appropriately done in browns. 

Game Bag. — Make a bag of heavy gray linen, with 
the back longer and pointed to lap over the front. Bind 
the edges with brown braid. On the front outline a 
design on leather of game or of guns crossed. The head 
of a pointer is a suitable design. Buy a leather strap to 
swing it over the shoulder. 

Rose-Leaf Bags. — Dry the rose leaves in bouquets, 
and preserve all the petals of the roses of the rose gar- 
den. Make a pale pink, blue, olive, or other tinted silk 
fourteen inches long and seven inches wide. Make for 
this an overslip of thin sheer linen, grass cloth, or Swiss. 
Embroider on this in colored silks a rose with its foliage, 
some single petals, as if they had fallen. Add in outline 
stitch some pleasant words, as " Sweets to the sweet." 



BAGS AND PILLOWS. 51 

If pineapple cloth is used, the design can be painted in 
water colors. Fill the silk sack three quarters full with 
dried rose petals. Slip the thin sack over it, and tie with 
a ribbon and bows. This rose-leaf bag is a pleasant gift 
to the sick, who can keep it near their pillows, when the 
odor of flowers would be too powerful. 

Small Fir Bag. — To put on the pillow of an invalid, 
make a small bag of gray green India silk. Fill half 
full with the needles, and tie in sack fashion with a rib- 
bon of deeper green tint. A branch of pine in outline 
stitch with deep green and brown silk is a suitable deco- 
ration. 

Sofa Pillows. — A simple method of making very 
elegant pillows is by cutting out the figures in lace and 
working over the white net, following out the lines 
with tinsel and colored silks, and introducing spangles. 
These designs are connected by crackle lines of tinsel 
cord or gold thread couched down. The most elegant 
materials are used in this way. 

Plush Pillow\ — Use the proportions of a large pillow 
in dark green plush. Line it down the open end with 
Nile green silk. The filling is a square pillow of hair. 
Above this the plush is tied up in sack fashion with satin 
ribbon. The ends fall open and reveal the lighter green 
lining. 

Linen Pillow Cover. — Large square covers for sofa 
pillows in much use are made of fine white linen, twenty- 
seven inches square. Put a row of machine stitching all 
around the inside three inches from the edge. Cut the 
edge out in blocks two inches wide, leaving space of two 
inches. Button-hole the blocks, however, before cut- 
ting. Finish with lace an inch wide. An inch inside 
of the line of stitching on the outer layer cut slashes in 
groups of two an inch apart, each groujD separated by 



52 SKILFUL SUSY. 

two inches, and long enough to admit ribbon two inches 
wide. Button-hole the edges of the slashes. Make 
bows of the ribbon in corners. 

Brocaded Satin Pillow. — Use satins of a solid color, 
which are the handsomest. Outline the designs in col- 
ored silk ; follow the shading of the flowers in silks, and 
vein the foliage. The effect is very elegant. 

Sailor Pillow. — Make the pillow of dark blue sateen 
or plush. Make for the border, in heavy outline stitch 
with white silk, a linked chain an inch and a half w T ide. 
Iu the centre, also in outline stitch, is an anchor, to 
which a rope is tied, and one end is carried off and at- 
tached to the chain of the border. Suitable for a yachts- 
man. 

Head Rest. — Make an oblong pillow of bronze satin. 
Cover it with crackle lines in gilt thread or tinsel cord. 
Swing by olive ribbons over the back of arm or easy- 
chair. 

Carriage Cushions. — Make square pillows of velours 
the color of the lining of the carriage. Trim with a 
cord about the sides, and ornament with an initial or 
monogram in gold. 

Balsam Pillows. — These are made of pongee. Of 
the narrow width pongee take two pieces nineteen inches 
square. On one of these embroider, in outline stitch in 
brown, the line, " Give me of thy balm, O fir tree !" in 
this manner : 

Give me 

Of thy 

Balm, 
O 

Fir tree ! 
Sew these two pieces together, and fill with balsam 
needles. Those which come from Maine are said to 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 53 

have the most aromatic odor. These pillows are said to 
be beneficial for those suffering with throat disease. 

Oblong Fir Pillow. — Make a cylindrical pillow of 
India silk in terra-cotta tint. Tie around the middle 
with wide ribbon and double bow. 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 

Baby Blankets. — For heavy blankets take the Eng- 
lish eider-down flannel or the thick American blanket 
flannel, which has a thick soft matted pile. Make the 
blanket about a yard long. Finish with big-patterned 
Medici lace or Smyrna, and line with pale pink or blue 
surah. 

Ribbon- Work Blanket. — Make sprigs of forget-me- 
nots and rosebuds, as if sprinkled over the surface in 
ribbon work, with leaves and stems of arrasene. What 
is known as daisy ribbon is used in these forget-me-nots. 
Small pieces of pink silk are used in the rosebuds. 

Rose Blanket. — Embroider in silks a large spray of 
roses and foliage arranged in crescent-shape. Irregular 
sprays of flowers ornament the rest of the blanket. 

Cherub Blanket. — Buy a stamped design with 
cherubs' heads and wings in groups, and outline with 
blue silk. Below work, also in outline stitch, " Holy 
angels guard thy bed, 1 ' or " Sleep, my pretty one, 
sleep." 

Cross-Stitch Blanket. — Cut the blanket a quarter 
of a yard longer than it is to be when made up. Baste a 
strip of canvas on one end, and work on it an ornamental 
sampler pattern in German cross-stitch with blue silk. 
Turn this over on to the blanket, and it makes a border 



54 SKILFUL SUSY. 

on one end, after having pulled out the canvas threads. 
Bind all around with two-inch blue ribbon. 

White Plush Blanket. — This makes an elegant baby 
Afghan. Embroider morning-glories in silks and the 
words, "Sweet dreams." 

Sicilian Batjy Afghan. — Cream-white Sicilian silk. 
Embroider on this in sprays wild roses in silk. Face 
up with ribbon two or three inches wide. 

Baby Spread. — Make of linen lawn, with a piece 
turned at the bottom a quarter of a yard. Hem-stitch 
and finish with fine Smyrna lace. Embroider in sep- 
arate flowers all over the spread, and with fine etching- 
silk the delicate filaments of " Love in a mist." 

Baby Spread of white cashmere. Down the centre 
is a wide blue ribbon, caught down with stitches of point 
russc in colored silks. Face around the edge with bine 
silk ribbon and trim with lace. 

Baby Basket. — Buy an ordinary willow market basket. 
Line it with colored cambric over cotton batting and an 
outer cover of sheer soft muslin edged with lace. Stuff 
the bottom, and lay on it a soft pillow, with a small 
pillow covered with a pillow-case of fine linen, with 
drawn work at the edges. This is preferred for very 
young babies to cribs. The outside of the basket may 
be gilded and ribbon bows tied on the handles. 

Pin Cushions. — It is difficult to tell any one anything 
new on this score. Cover the cushions with light silks, 
and make them overlaying covers. Always have some- 
thing that can be taken off and cleaned. 

Congress Canvas Cover. — Chit a square of congress 
canvas ; hem it up with a row of hem-stitching. Draw 
threads in group wide enough to admit daisy ribbon. 
Make five or six of these groups with spaces between. 
Draw the ribbons through, leaving loops at the corner. 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 



55 



Pineapple Covers.— Make these with hem-stitched 
hems, and finish with lace. Outline disks singly and 
in groups with gold. Wash in faint pink, and outline 
on this morning-glory in gold, with deeper tints show- 
ing the shading, "in the same way put nasturtiums on 
yellow, purple lilies on purple. 

Toilet Sets.— These are made in the same way as 
those indicated for covers. Bottles are covered in the 
same way, and wide frills with frayed edges are box- 
pleated, making full ruffs about the stoppers. 

Toilet BottIes.— These are very handsome covered 
with white, pink, and other colored plushes, with painted 
disks and frills in silk, such as are described above. 

Work Aprons.— Coquettish aprons for fancy-work 
are made of pongee. Take a yard of pongee. Hem it all 
around with a row of hem-stitching an inch and a half 
deep. Turn it up washwoman style one third. This makes 
a pocket for the work. These aprons are embroidered. 
The most common design is, " A stitch in time saves 
nine," in old Dutch or English letters. The first clause 
is on the upper part of the apron, the second on the 
lower part. Another text is, " Needles and pins. When 
one is married trouble begins." This is accompanied by 
a design in outline stitch, in which the husband comes to 
have a button sewed on. It is a pretty fashion to em- 
broider on the pocket part buttercups, daisies, pansies, 
or other simple flowers in stiff little rows ; the upper 
part is hemmed down, and a tying ribbon run through. 

Grenadine Aprons.— Short protecting aprons of white 
grenadine or German canvas are made attractive by 
hemming with a row of hem-stitching and bands of drawn 
work. I>raw the threads in groups the width of a very 
narrow ribbon ; leave space the same width. Make a 
band of these threads and spaces an inch and a half wide, 



50 SKILFUL SUSY. 

and weave ribbons through the drawn threads. In select- 
ing ribbons, take two tints of the same color. Use the 
deeper tint through the outer threads, and the lighter in 
the centre. On either side of this, if more work is 
needed, draw groups of thread, enclosing the stuff an 
inch and a half wide. Draw in this hand perpendicular 
threads, dividing it into squares. 

Bandana Apkons.— Get the brightest of the colored 
bandana handkerchiefs. Make a perfectly plain apron 
with pockets. Turn down the top and run in a bright red 
or yellow satin ribbon to tie. 

Towel Aprons. — Take a handsome embroidered towel 
in color and with long netted fringe. Turn over the 
top one third, and make a line of stitching in which to 
run the ribbon to tie. 

Daisy Aprons.— Make the apron of congress canvas. 
Bind it all around with wide satin ribbon, or on the lower 
end face the width of the ribbon up on the outside. 
Make daisies of rick-rack braid, and rill in the centres 
with French knot-stitch in yejlow. Arrange these on 
the satin ribbon at the bottom. Make a pocket of the 
ribbon, and ornament it with a group of daisies. Shirr 
the binding at the top, and tie. 

Moucholrs. — Take a piece of chamois-skin, or wash- 
leather, as it is sometimes called, twelve inches wide 
and eighteen inches long. Double the chamois-skin 
and add pockets inside six inches wide. Cover the 
several edges with tinsel cord. On the outside work 
the word Mouchoir or a monogram with couchings of 
the tinsel cord. Mouchoirs of this sort are especially 
suitable for men. 

Lavender Satin Mouchoir. — Take a square of laven- 
der satin and line with pink satin, putting a layer of cot- 
ton batting and the perfume inside. Fold up the three 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 57 

corners and fasten. Leave the fourth open. Tie with 
satin bow. 

Pocket Mouciioir.— Take a square of cream- white 
sicilienne. Line it with pale pink quilted satin. On 
the inside put pockets of the white sicilienne. Finish 
with gold cords. Other ornament can of course be 
added. 

Japanese Mocchoie. — Take Japanese paper mats or 
paper napkins. Line them with cotton batting, the 
glazed side out. Sew the edges together by poking 
holes and dragging through narrow colored ribbon. 

Gentleman's Mouciioir. — Make the case of rough 
brown buckram, but line it most luxuriously, for it is a 
prevailing fashion to conceal the greatest richness under 
a rough exterior. On the buckram, which takes paint 
in a bold style, paint a couple of pipes crossed or crossed 
tennis rackets. Geometrical figures are good. Flowers 
are in bad style. 

Sachets. — It is premised of every woman that she 
cannot have more sachets than she can make use of. 
Dry perfumes are much more agreeable than liquid per- 
fumes, and a little powder in drawers and other recepta- 
cles obviates the use of liquid perfumes. There is a 
fashion in scent powders. At present the most popular 
perfume is a combination of iris root and violet powder. 
Iris root in itself is a most agreeable but delicate powder. 
The best way of using it is to buy it by the pound and 
mix with it some stronger perfume, such as violet, helio- 
trope, or whatever perfume each one may prefer, and 
make it up into a number of sachets, and use that com- 
bination alone. In using the powder place it between 
layers of thin cotton batting. It may be renewed when 
necessary. 

Wall Sachets.— Take a piece of long-haired yellow 



58 SKILFUL SUSY. 

plush a half yard long and eight inches wide, and a piece 
of gay brocaded ribbon six inches wide and of the same 
length as the plush, and sew them together. Make this 
into a bag with a piece of silk or satin the size of the two 
strips when sewed together. Three inches below the 
top, which must be faced inside for four inches with silk, 
run a draw-string. Before the string is inserted place 
inside two pieces of cotton batting, with the sachet pow- 
der between. Draw up, swing by yellow ribbons, and 
ornament with flat loops of the ribbon at one corner. 
The sachet is intended to hang above a register or against 
a heated flue. 

Round mats of Japanese paper, which come in all col- 
ors and with attractive designs, make desirable sachets. 
Place between the two mats layers of cotton holding the 
powder, and sew r them together just inside the crinkled 
borders. Add a small bow of satin ribbon in one corner, 
with an end laid diagonally across the sachet. On this 
string a date or sentiment can be painted in gold. 

Linen Sachets. — Take two pieces of colored silk three 
inches wide and six inches long, and make like a flat pil- 
low. Over this put a case of linen lawn, with both ends 
fringed, and above the fringe a band of drawn work. 
Embroider on this in colored silks the name of the sachet 
— violet, rose, etc., as the case may be. 

Sachet Sacks. —Bags of silk, satin, and plush, tied 
like sacks with ribbons, are used as sachets. Take 
lemon-colored silk. Cut out a disk of light green silk, a 
crescent of rose-colored silk. Lay them together and 
applique them on with tinsel cord. Paint or outline in 
gold on these some floral design. They are beautiful 
and easily made. 

Umbrella Cases. — These are of stout twilled gray 
linen. Out the back perfectly plain, nine inches wide 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 59 

at the top, tapering down to four inches at the bottom 
and six inches longer than the umbrella. For the out- 
side take another piece six inches shorter than the um- 
brella, fifteen inches wide at the top, and six inches at 
the bottom. Crease these exactly in the middle. On 
one half embroider in outline stitch an umbrella fastened 
but not rolled up. On the other half embroider two 
canes crossed, one plain, the other notched. Stitch this 
piece on the back exactly down the two centres, meeting 
at the bottom. Put the edges together and bind with 
fine twilled braid the color of the embroidery. Lay the 
two sides in box pleat, showing the design in the centre 
of the pleat. Bind at the top. An additional design, 
seen in some cases on the top of the back, is two little 
girls ; one holds a paper, the other looks up, saying, 
" Do it say rain ?" Initials or monogram may take the 
place of this hit of pleasantry. 

Necktie Case.— Take a piece of gray twilled linen 
eleven inches wide and a little longer than half the 
length of a man's necktie. Cut a piece of silk for lining 
the same size. Sew the two together except at one end. 
One inch apart down the centre stitch two lines. On 
each side slip in pieces of cardboard exactly to fit. 
Fasten the end neatly. Inside put across at equal inter- 
vals satin ribbon long enough to tie on the outside, and 
fasten them down. Under these the neckties are slipped 
and kept in place. On the back paint tennis rackets 
crossed, in brown and red, or pipes crossed. 

Scrap Baskets.— The simplest form of scrap basket is 
the graceful wicker, rattan, and split straw baskets, orna- 
mented with a large bow and many loops of ribbon. 

Woven baskets, cylindrical and bowl-shaped, are 
painted with bronze and iridescent paints. The orna- 
ment is a large bouquet of artificial flowers, white lilacs, 



GO SKILFUL SUSY. 

and, still better, artificial fruits, especially large golden 
oranges and apples. They are fastened with loops of 
ribbon that harmonize with the fruit. Do not line scrap 
baskets. It is difficult to keep the lining from soiling. 

Matting Scrap Baskets.— These may be made by 
adjusting a strip of matting to a round bottom of stiff 
cardboard. Cut the matting a yard long and a half or 
three quarters wide. Where the edges are joined fasten 
the ornament, which is the same as that given above. 

Birch-Bark Scrap Baskets. —Take a suitable strip of 
birch bark and make a cylindrical basket, such as that 
described above. Finish the top with wisps of willow 
tinted red, weaving it in and out through cuts made by 
an awl. Ornament with ribbon. 

Waste-Paper Kegs. — Take small wooden kegs. Cop- 
per-bronze the hoops, and tie wide satin ribbon with 
large bow around the centre. 

Cabinet Panels. — Panels for small wood cabinets are 
made by painting pink, red, and yellow roses on tea-chest- 
matting. 

Wall Hangings for country houses are made by paint- 
ing flat bamboo shades or matting. They are both cool, 
and protect the interior from moisture. Hollyhocks, 
cactus, and boughs of fruit are suitable designs. 

Lamp Shades. — Take alternate strips of ribbon and 
inserting, and sew them together. Finish each end with 
a point, and add to it a silk ball of appropriate color or 
a gilt sequin. Shirr around the top to fit the globe or 
porcelain shade. 

A plain strip of silk the depth of the porcelain shade 
or globe, made full and shirred at the top and finished 
with silk fringe or white lace, makes a handsome shade. 
The bottom of the silk cut in points and faced up adds to 
the effect. 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. Gl 

Pule pink, blue, or other delicately tinted silks are 
pretty made in this way, with designs in thin water-color 
washes. 

Fluted-Paper Shades. — Take a sheet of colored 
paper by the centre and crease it together with the hand. 
This will give those tine lines seen in Japanese shades. 
As the paper is oblong, it gives a novel shape to the 
shade. 

Flower Lamp Shade. — Make a frame by fitting a tin 
ring to the globe. Have holes pierced in the tin and at- 
tach wires, bending them to the shape desired. Parasol 
frames are for the present popular. A little dexterity is 
necessary in fashioning the frames. When made cover 
them with roses and other flowers made of tissue paper. 
The making of paper flowers is now carried to great per- 
fection. These paper flowers are simply crowded into 
the frame, completely covering it. Use only one kind 
of flower — roses or peonies. Light-tinted papers are 
much prettier by lamp-light. The shade needs no other 
finish. 

Japanese Bead Shades. — The beads used are the size 
of a French pea, and are both opaque and transparent. 
They must be made on a flaring porcelain shade. About 
an inch and a half above the bottom of the shade fit a 
string of beads as close together as possible. Between 
each bead attach a string threaded with beads and falling 
two inches below the bottom of the shade. Make an- 
other row of beads for a head, fitted with bead fringe in 
the same way, and fit it to the shade an inch and a half 
above the first row, or so that the fringe will fall an 
inch and a half below the first head. At the top of the 
shade fit two rows of beads for a head, and finish with 
fringe in the same way. The weight of the beads and 
the flare of the lamp globe adjust the fringe without any 



62 SKILFUL SUSY. 

further trouble. These shades in green, rose-color, and 
brown beads are very beautiful. 

Sunflower Shades. — These are intended to screen the 
eyes from a lamp not otherwise shaded. Cut the long 
petals five inches long, two inches wide, tapering to a 
point. Crinkle these up on a knitting-needle. Gum 
the petals in thick overlapping rows on to a round piece 
of cardboard. Fill the centre with yellow and black 
fringed-out paper. Attach a wire bent over to hook on 
to the globe to the cardboard. Paste paper neatly over 
the back. 

Blotters. — Whatman's drawing-paper cut into any 
size desired makes the covers for blotters. There is no 
effort to make the edges smooth : these are gilded. On 
the cover is painted broad water-color washes, sprays of 
daffodils, jonquils, tulips, buttercups, and among these 
introduce some quotation. Other blotters may have 
irregular Japanese zigzags in gold, with a spray of flow- 
ers in the corner. The blotting leaves are introduced 
inside, and all is fastened together by holes punched 
clear through. Strands of gold thread or ribbons are 
drawn through and are tied on top, making another orna- 
ment to the cover. 

Beautiful blotters are made by covering two paste- 
board leaves for the cover with light brown linen. But 
first this has a design drawn on — we will say of conven- 
tionalized peonies. The flower is put in in thin water- 
color washes or with the aniline dyes. The forms are 
defined in outline stitch. In the linen pale yellowish 
pink tints are admirable for the flower. Line the cover 
with olive satin. The line of the sewing, which should 
be a little inside the cover, can be hidden by couchings 
of gold thread. 

More sumptuous blotters still, or we will call them 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 63 

portfolios, are made in the same way by covering the 
boards with velvet or plush, and embroidering them with 
couehings of gold thread. 

A package of oblong blotters in colors — red, bine, 
white, gray — fastened together by punching holes 
through and tying with a ribbon, are very acceptable. 
A humorous design in pen and ink adds greatly to the 
blotter. 

Small blotters with covers of the Whatman paper cut 
in squares and diamonds make dainty presents. The 
edges are left in irregular notches, and are irregularly 
marked with gold. Maiden's-hair fern in water colors 
trails all over the color, and amid it is the title in neat 
lettering, " Extracts from the Pen." The leaves are 
fastened with strands of gold thread or silk cords with 
tasselled ends. 

Fayal-Crash Blotter. — Cover two pieces of card- 
board with a piece of fayal crash and line with crimson 
silk. On the back paint in brown and gilt these words : 
" Devise, wit." 

" Write, pen." 
Add below some gay flower. 

Palm Blotter. Make the cover of gray linen. Em- 
broider solid palm leaves in deep blue crewel, about an 
inch and a half apart and at various angles. Line and 
fill with blotters, as usual. 

Fancy Clocks. — The small round Waterbury clocks 
are the occasion of many pretty ornaments for the table. 
Take a palette, have a hole cut in it large enough to in- 
sert the clock. But before it is inserted cover the easel 
with plush, red or blue, which has been previously orna- 
mented. Japanese zigzags in couchings of gold thread 
are as pretty as anything else. A bow of ribbon is tied 
in the thumb-hole. The palette should have a wooden 



(54 SKILFUL SUSY. 

support at the Lack. The clocks for this purpose cost 
$1.25. 

Plush Panel Clock. — An oblong panel twelve inches 
long by seven wide is covered with plush, on which has 
first been embroidered a rose spray in arrasene. The 
clock is inserted in the same way as in the palette given 
above. 

Plaque Clock. — Take a wooden plaque and cover it 
with olive plush, on which has been painted a few stocks 
of yellow Maximilian daisies with flowers. Let some of 
the foliage be brown and sere. Insert the clock in the 
midst of the flowers. 

Lyre Clock. — Have a harp made out of yellow pine. 
The sides may be covered with plush, but it is easier and 
the effect is as good to stain the wood black or cherry, or 
gild and bronze it. Paint on the sides a vine and flow- 
ers. Gild or silver the strings, or have these of wire, if 
you choose. Insert the clock in the base, which should 
be broad enough to allow the lyre to stand firmly. 

Violin and Guitar Clocks.— These are made in the 
way described above, the shapes of the instruments only 
being different. 

Whisk-Broom Holder. — Take a square or diamond- 
shaped wood seven by ten inches. Cover it with plush 
which has been made ornamental by zigzag lines of gold 
thread or tinsel cord. Tack across the board a band of 
ribbon that has been stiffened by a lining of buckram. 
Have this just loose enough to allow the handle to pass 
through. Initials or monograms in gold ornament the 
ribbon appropriately. 

Butchers' Cuff Holders. — These woven matting 
cuffs, bronzed and hung by ribbons, make excellent 
holders for whisk brooms. 

Hand Glass. — Take a white celluloid hand glass and 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 65 

ornament with flowers in oil paints. Introduce B urns' s 
lines : 

" O would some power the giftie gie us 
To see oursels as itkers see us." 

Pen Wipers. — Cut pieces of white flannel the size of 
playing cards. Make two groups of five or six layers. 
On the top of each put small diamonds cut out of red 
flannel. A suitable combination is the eight and five of 
diamonds. These two groups are tacked together at the 
lower part, as if one was half lying on the other. 

Ball Pen Wiper. — Cut out a number of round pieces 
of flannel four inches in diameter. Pink the edges, but- 
ton-hole or sew on fancy-colored beads. Fold each piece 
in halves, then quarters, then eighths. Fasten all the 
points together Finish with a bow, and attach to the 
side of the writing-desk. 

Clover-Leaf Paper. — Preserve all four-leaf clovers. 
Buy fine Irish linen paper. The clover leaves having 
been thoroughly pressed, are gummed on to the head of 
each leaf of paper. It is a graceful act to use this paper 
in writing notes of congratulation, or on birthdays and 
other anniversaries. 

Church Calendars. — Have the church calendars 
printed on white satin ribbon fringed out at each end. 
The ribbon should be five inches wide. Take a piece of 
rough cardboard, bevel the edges, and gild them. Paint 
on it in water colors Easter lilies. The decoration 
should be on the right-hand side. On the left-hand side 
attach the calendar with some transparent glue, but do 
not paste it entirely down. Leave both ends free, past- 
ing near the top. 

Shaving Papers. — Take a piece of cardboard five 
inches long and two and a half inches wide. Cover 
neatly with white or other colored silk. Paint on this a 



6G SKILFUL SUSY. 

flower or gilt initials. Attach to it an oblong piece of 
bolting clutli the same width and eight inches long. 
Finish it with silk fringe or simply hem it. Paint on 
this k ' A clean shave" in ornamental letters. Cut sheets 
of tissue paper the length of the whole. 

Paper Shaving Case. — Cut the shaving papers ob- 
long, and suspend them by a braid of tissue paper crin- 
kled, cut into strips, and braided. On to the outside 
paper attach a bunch of paper flowers. 

Lamp Lighters. — Bunches of lamp lighters made of 
colored papers are made very attractive by crimping the 
ends over hair-pins, as is done in the petals of the sun- 
flower lamp shade. The effect is very good. 

For Photographs. — Take a piece of ecru, brown, and 
gold Japanese cbintz eight inches wide and eleven inches 
long. Cut two pieces of cardboard a little under eight 
inches by a little over five inches, using the same chintz 
as a lining, of course of the same dimensions. Insert 
these two pieces. This leaves in the centre sufficient 
space to give a book-like flexibility to the piece which is 
to act as a cover. Cut two more pieces of cardboard the 
same size. Inside each with a sharp knife cut away the 
cardboard, one inch from the outside. Cover this with 
the same chintz neatly. This makes the frame for the 
photograph. Fasten the two pieces of cardboard thus 
treated neatly into the long strip, overstitching the sides 
and base. Tack the upper part together, leaving room 
to slip the photographs in. Long strips for a dozen pho- 
tographs can be made in the same way that will fold up. 
Tie with a ribbon. 

Photograph Portfolio. — Form a cover of two pieces 
of cardboard covered with stiff brown buckram, such as 
is used in book-binding. Leave plenty of room in the 
centre between the two pieces of cardboard, at least an 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 67 

inch and a half. Line with crimson silk. A. little orris 
powder slipped in between is not amiss. On the outside 
paint the word " Photographs" in letters irregularly 
arranged in black, white, and gold. Above or below 
pass a wide crimson satin ribbon. On the reverse side 
paint a dagger that apparently pierces the ribbon, the 
point coming out below and the head on the buckram. 

Wood Baskets. — The woven rattan baskets are gilded 
or painted. Lambrequins of plush hang from the sides. 
On these put the motto, " Heap on the wood, the night 
grows chill," in tinsel cord couched on. Wooden baskets 
shaped like the woven ones can be treated in the same 
way. 

Straw Wood Baskets. — Get a piece of split straw 
matting. Cut it into a circle. Bind the edges stoutly, 
and attach stout handles of straw wound with cord. 
Gild the whole. Two rows of different colored gilt add 
to the looks. Doable the circle in half. Carry by the 
handles. Occasionally tremendous straw hats can be 
found for the same purpose. 

Straw Baskets. — No matter how homely or common 
the basket, it may be painted in flat color, gilded or 
bronzed, elaborately lined with silk or satin. Yellow is 
the favorite color, and finished for any luxurious purpose 
by ribbons tied on the handles. The different braids are 
often painted or gilded in different tints with good effect. 

Work Basket. — Shallow woven baskets are trans- 
formed into the favorite work baskets of the moment by 
lining them with gay French percales, blue with red, pink 
and green and olive, and yellow with reds. The stuff is 
brought over in a full puff on the outside. Inside are 
the small needle book, thimble cases, and pockets for 
thread. The handle across the top is ornamented with a 
flat bow combining the colors of the percale. 



68 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Straw Paper Holder. — Take a piece of flat, straw, 
flexible matting, such as covers tea chests, thirty-six 
inches long and eighteen inches wide. Bind all around 
with ribbon two inches wide ; turn up one end and 
fasten it down, leaving eighteen inches above as a back. 
Where fastened bows are placed. The turned-Tip por- 
tion is painted with flowers, and " Papers" put among 
them in ornamental letters. The papers are stuck 
through the opening. Ribbons hang the holder on the 
wall. 

Wall Basket. — Take a hoop, cover it with matting 
similar to that spoken of above. Fasten a rope with 
small tacks as a better finish. Cut a crescent of card- 
board. Fasten it at a little inclination on the lower 
side. Gild or bronze the whole, and give the crescent 
some additional decoration. This is a convenient recep- 
tacle for odds and ends. 

Needle Cases that are pinned on to a convenient cur- 
tain are made of different tints of olive felt mingled with 
red and olive cut into the form of maple leaves. These 
are then ornamented with feather stitch in colored silks 
in such a way as to indicate the veinings of color in an 
autumn leaf. These are grouped in such a way as to 
represent a cluster of autumn leaves, and are fastened 
with a bow of ribbon, as if tied on the branch. 

Palm-Leaf Wall Pocket. — Take a piece of cretonne 
three eighths of a yard wide and long enough to full 
slightly around a palm-leaf fan. In the centre face it 
down inside with silk in harmony with the color. Lay 
it in big box-pleats, and fasten it down, the upper part 
backward, showing the lining. On the lower part fasten 
a bow of ribbon, which will conceal the joining. Slip 
a couple of peacock feathers through. 

Silvered Palm Leaves. — Tie with a bow of dark 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 69 

green satin ribbon, fastening a bouquet of artificial snow- 
balls or white chrysanthemums. 

Plaster-of-Paris Figures. — Select such small statu- 
ettes as Niobe's Son, Tanagra figurines, and works of 
actual merit. These may be treated by rubbing them 
over with a little linseed oil, which softens the bold white, 
and which in time makes them resemble old ivory ; or 
give them a thin coat of bronze, rubbing them to give 
unevenness of tint. No more pleasing ornaments can be 
found for a cabinet. 

Plaster-of-Paris Reliefs. — Select copies of good 
works, such as DonatehVs " Mother and Child," or some 
undoubted work of art ; oil, bronze, or gild them un- 
evenly ; hang on the wall against some tint that will throw 
them out, such as red plush, ivory brocaded satin, or any 
choice bit of stuff. 

Waste Match Basket. — Take a piece of gilt wire- 
cloth five inches wide, eight inches long. Double in the 
middle. Sew the two sides together. Bind the sides and 
top with ribbon, fastening the edge with fancy stitches 
running down into the cloth. On the bottom put a row 
of tassels made with tinsel thread. Swing by colored 
ribbon. 

Turkey-Tail Quill Ornaments. — Turkey feathers 
for decorating baskets and wail-pockets are made orna- 
mental by spotting them with gilt and bronze paint. 

Pox-Tail Duster. — Run a wire down the tail as far 
as you can, and attach the wire to a round handle. Wind 
the two together with colored ribbons. 

Turkey- Wing Duster. — Cut two pieces of olive satin 
to fit the compact end of the turkey wing. Ornament it 
with a spider's web in gilt thread. Sew the two pieces 
together, pink out the edge which overlies the feather or 
fasten down with fancy stitches. 



70 SKILFUL SUSY. 

Egg-Shell Fringe. — Cut off the tops of eggs one 
third deep. Crochet a fine network of silk in which they 
may swing. Plant in them fine seeds and grasses, and 
swing them from brackets and cabinets. 

Catsup Jug Yases. — These are either gray or red. 
Paint them dark green, and ornament with nasturtium 
flower and leaves. 

Liebig-Jar Match Holders. — Gild empty Liebig jars, 
and trace crackle lines over the gold in Indian red. 

Italian Wine Bottles. — These slender-necked recep- 
tacles, with the bowls overlaid with straw, are much used 
for holding a single stalk of jonquil or narcissus. Gild, 
bronze, or silver them, and hang on the wall or stand 
as a vase. Oil bottles can be used in the same way. 

Watering-Pot Yases. — Paint a mottled gray and 
ornament with wild roses. Tie a bow of pink and apple- 
green ribbon on the handle. 

Ginger- Jar Lamps. — Have a brass receptacle made to 
go inside the jar for the oil, and a burner and porcelain 
shade adjusted. Do not scrub or clean the jar outside 
or take off the wicker work. 

Little Tin Pin Pans. — Have the tinner make little 
pans two and a half inches in diameter, with flaring rims 
and handles. Paint inside on the bottom a little land- 
sea |)0 or flower. Inside on the rim put this line : 

" Bright as this tin may your future be, 

Is the wish of the one that gives it to thee." 

Tie ribbons on the handles. 

Chatelaine. — Make a rosette or round bow of pink 
satin ribbon ; from this depend four ribbons of unequal 
lengths. To one attach scissors, to another hang a 
dainty needle case ; to a third fasten a tiny bag fur a 
thimble, and on the fourth fasten an emery ball. 



SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. 71 

Nursery Scrap Book. — Make a book of leaves of gray 
linen fourteen by twenty-two inches. Bind each leaf 
with braid. Sew down the centre. Make a cover of 
buckram. Paint on the back a row of owls on a branch — 
one holding a book pretending to read, or a row of cats 
in neckties and collars. Use black and white paint. 

Rag Babies. — Old-fashioned rag dolls in sunbonnets 
and calico aprons are always desirable. 

Parasol Catch- All. — Take a Japanese parasol and 
mount it in a wooden block about six inches square. 
Open it conveniently and fasten it by attaching silk cords 
or slender brass chains to the handle, where tie a bow of 
ribbon. 

Fan Oatch-All. — Take a Japanese fan and remove 
the rivet. Fasten the outside sticks together. Gather 
up the ends through the holes with a cord. Weave wide 
colored ribbons through the sticks. Those fans with 
fewest sticks serve best for this purpose. 

Horn Yase. — Take a cow's horn, or any horn ; have 
it tipped and rimmed with brass. Hang it on the wall 
with a ribbon to hold a single choice flower. 

Hat Rack. — Have the carpenter make a large shield- 
shaped form. Cover this with crimson plush, or what- 
ever color may be more desirable. Fasten this securely 
on the reverse side and fasten with brass-headed nails on 
the sides. Screw on six or eight large hooks for hats 
and coats. Hang this on the wall. It makes a desirable 
article in a small hall. 

Rolling-Pin Key Rack. — Take an ordinary wuoden 
rolling pin. Gild it, silver it ; cover it with silk and 
decorate in water colors, or ornament it in whatever 
way you desire. Screw in it little brass hooks, and sus- 
pend it by ribbon, with bows tied on the handles. 

Card Boxes. — They are oblong, the size of two packs 



72 SKILFUL SUSY. 

of cards. A sliding bottom reveals places for the cards- 
On the top, which has a bevelled edge, are two open fans 
cut out of white wood. The edges are notched, and in 
each notch is a number. The fans are variously deco- 
rated. A wooden arrow gilded, set on a pivot on eacli 
fan, points to the numbers. Between the fans is this line : 
" Onr doubts are traitors, 

And make us often lose 

The good we oft might win 

By fearing to attempt." 



MOTTOES. 



MOTTOES FOR TEA CLOTHS AND TRAY CLOTHS. 

" Mocha's berry from Arabia fine, 

In small fine china cups." 

" The cup which cheers, but not inebriates. " 

" Coffee which makes the politician wise." 

" A large, sweet, round, and yellow cake, 

The lovely child of Ceres." 

" On shining altars of Japan they raise the silver lamp." 

" The vulgar boil, the learned roast, an egg." 

" Four-and-twenty blackbirds 

Baked in a pye." 

" Feed me with custard and perpetual white broth." 

" The fragrant cinnamon, the dusky clove, 

The strength of all the aromatic train." 

" The mince pie reigns in realms beyond his own." 

" A tea-kettle simmering on the hob." 
" Spread thy ambrosial stores, and feast with Jove." 
" Who can cloy the hungry edge of appetite 
With base imagination of a feast?" 
" Fair fa your honest sonsie face, 
Great chieftain of the pudding race." 
" Drink now the strong beer, 
Cut the white loaf here." 



MOTTOES. 73 

" The piercing cider for the thirsty tongue." 

" The fruit on the far side of the edge is the sweetest." 

" Good diet, with wisdom, coniforteth man." 

" Let it serve for table talk." 

" Flowing cups pass quickly round, 

With no allaying Thames." 

" From humble Port to imperial Tokay." 

" Appetite comes with eating." 
" Eat and drink, and in communion sweet 
Quaff immortality." 
" Then to the spicy, nut-brown ale." 
" Herbs and other country messes 
Which the neat-handed Phyllis dresses." 
" A dinner lubricates business." 
A dessert without cheese is like beauty wanting an eye. " 
" Better cheer you may have, 
But not with better heart." 
" Let good digestion wait on appetite." 
" Eat at pleasure, drink by measure." 

MOTTOES FOR BUFFET COVERS. 

" Let good digestion wait on appetite." 

" Mistress of herself, though the china fall." 

" Old wine to drink, old friends to trust." 

" Various are the tastes of men." 

" Drink some wine ere thou go." 

" To cookery we owe well-ordered States." 

" Dinners of form I vote a bore." 

" No useless dish my table crowds." 

" Ordered dishes in their courses chime." 

" On hospitable thoughts intent." 

" Taste after taste upheld with kindliest change." 

" Decent cupboard, little plate." 

" Keep to old wine and old friends." 

" Hold the rolling-pin a sacred trust." 

" God bless my soul ! no apple-pie !" 

" Caput apri defero 

Reddens laudes Domino." 

" L'ami, de table est variable." 

" Hunger is worse than the plague." 

" That nourishment which is called supper." 



74 SKILFUL SUSY. 

MOTTOES FOE DOYLIES. 

" This treasure of an oyster.' 

" Blessed pudding." 

" Sweets to the sweet." 

" Chacun a son gout." 

" There is truth in wine." 

' ' It may prove an ox. ' ' 

" The sauce to meat is compaDy." 

" She brought forth butter 

In a lordly dish." 

" Two lovely berries moulded on one stem." 

" Any pretty little tiny kickshaws." 

" All's well that ends well." 

" Happy them who take the middle course." 

" A fat, round pasty." 

" Hot bag puddings and good apple pyes." 

" Nappy ale, good and stale, in a brown bowle." 

" Quaff immortality." 

" The rare mince pye. " 

" The plums stand by." 

" Delight in pastry." 

" The gadding vine." 

" Jove's nectar sip." 

SENTIMENT FOR FIR PILLOWS. 

" Here lives and murmurs, faintly though it be, the spirit ot the 
pines. " 

" Come to me, quoth the pine, 

I am the giver of honor." 

" A dream of the forest." 

"The stuff that dreams are made of." 

" Give me of thy balm, O fir tree." 

" A sigh to the past, and a blessing on you." 

FOR WORK APRONS. 

" A stitch in time saves nine." 

" Needles and pins. 

When a man's married trouble begins." 

" Get thy spindle and distaff ready, 

And God will send the flax." 

" How doth the little busy bee 

Improve each shining hour." 



MOTTOES. 75 

u Make hay while the sun shines. " 

" She weaves a web of colors gay." 

" I don't care what the daisies say, 

I'll be married some fine day." 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

" Sounds and sweet airs that give delight." 
" Books, like old friends, should be few and well chosen." 
" Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice." 
" Praising what is lost 

Makes the remembrance dear.' ; 
" Take me." 
" I know a trick worth two of that ; 
Make a note on 't.' ' 
" Shall I not take mine ease in mine inn ?" 
" Do all the good you can, and say nothing about it." 
" Respect the burden." 
" Malice toward none, charity toward all." 
" North, south, east, west, hame's best." 
" To rest the cushion invites." 
" For thee, Tobacco, I would do anything but die." 
" Life is a short summer — man a flower." 
" He touched nothing he did not adorn." 
" A pin a day will fetch a groat a year." 
" Many a little makes a mickle." 
" It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright." 
" No sun upon an Easter day, 
Was e'er so fine a sight." 
" Sands form the mountain, moments make the year." 
" Dreams are the children of an idle brain." 
" Another day is added to the nap of buried ages." 
" To-morrow is a new day." 
" Eoom about her knees for all mankind." 
" The gathered treasure of men's thoughts." 
" The consecration and the poet's dream." 
" The world's a merry world." 
" Take me." 
" Clean hands, pure heart." 
" A friend in need's a friend indeed." 
" Rain or shine." 
" Every cloud has a silver lining." 
"My clouds all other clouds dispel." 



ASTRONOMY WITHOUT A TEACHER. 

THE STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS. A new method by 
which all the more conspicuous stars, constellations and 
other objects of interest in the heavens that are visible to 
the naked eye can be easily and certainly identified with- 
out Instruments, Globes or Maps. By Koyul Hill. Super- 
royal fine paper, 4to, with 2 charts and 14 cuts. Price $1.00. 

Prof. C. A. Young, Princeton, N. J. : "An excellent introduc- 
tion to the study of the stars, containing in small compass all 
that is needed to identify easily all the leading stars and con- 
stellations." 

Prof. S. Newcomb, Nautical Almanac Office, Washington, D. C: 
"Please accept my thanks for the instructive book, entitled : 
' The Stars and Constellations.' " 

Prof. S. P. Langley, Director of the Allegheny Observatory, Alle- 
gheny, Pa. : "1 hive examined ' The Stars and Constellations,' 
and think its scheme a very good one. I know of no chart 
bett;r calculated to teach the young observer the names and 
places of the principal stars. I heartily recommend it." 

Aljred G. Compton, Pr'f. Applied Mathematics College of City of 
New York: " I have examined with pleasure 'The Stars and 
Constellati-ns, ' and I like it very mui h. It should certainly 
be very useiul in making a student acquainted with the prin- 
cipal objects in the heavens, which then become centres 
around which he can easily learn to group the details." 

J. K. Bees, Director Columbia College Observatory: "The 
' Stars and Constellations ' pleases me very much because it is 
a successlul attempt to interest the young in finding the prin- 
cipal stars and constellations. I think it can be very useful 
for beginners in the study of the heavens." 



FUNK & WAGNALLS, 10-12 Dey St., New York. 



BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF ALL HISTORY. 

LUDLOWS CONCESTRIC CHART OF HISTORY, giving at 
a Glance the Separate and Contemporaneous History of 
each Century, Ancient and Modern. Invented and pat- 
ented by James M. Ludlow, D.D. Price $2.00. 
Separ te and Contemporaneous History of: 
United States. Netherlands. The Church. 
England. Russia. Modern Painters. 

Scotland Turkey. Sculptors. 

Ireland. Greece. Architects. 

France. India. Literary Characters. 

Germany. Norway. The Popes. 

Spain. Egypt. Roman Republic. 

Italy. Lydia. Roman Empire. 

Sweden. Phoenicia. Ancient Art. 

Denmark. The Jews. Ancient Literature. 

The device consists of nineteen fan-shaped pieces of stout 
card-board, ten inches long and ssven inches wide at the top, 
fastened upon a common centre. Each of these segments rep- 
resents onecountry orsubject (literary, etc.), andis divide'l by 
circles, nineteen in number, having their centre at the base of 
the fan. Between these circles i; given, together with the 
date, the important events of each century. By opening two 
or more segments the contemporaneous events of the respect- 
ive countries can be seen by the century circles. The device 
is an important aid in comparing and remembering historical 
events. 

R. S. Starrs, D.D. : " Ad r irable in design, skillful in execu- 
tion, accurate in detail." 

David Cochran, LL.D., Pres. Polytechnic Institute, Brooklyn: 
" A very ingenious and valuable device for bringing historical 
events together in their proper relations of time and of cause 
and effect." 

Jisse B. Thomas, D.D. : " It holds an ocean of fact in a thim- 
bleful of space." 



FUNK & WAGNALLS, 10-12 Dey St., New York. 



STORIES IN RHYME FOR HOLIDAY 
TIME. 

By E Iward Jewitt Wheeler. With 29 illustrations by Walter 
Satterlse. A holiday book for young readers. 4to, 102 pp., 
illuminated cover, $1.75. 

Contents. 



Dedication. 

Proem. 

How after all the Sky Didn't 

Fall. 
The Kite and the Tail. 
A Peep at Paradise. 



When Spring Began. 
Bob's Bicycle Bide. 
The Boy to the Schoolmaster. 
The New Baby's Name. 
Eglantine; or, the Magical 
Glove. 



James Russell Lmvell : "I am greatly pleased with 'Stories 
in Rhyme.' " 

The Nation : " Quite above the average." 

The Xeio York Times : " Replete wit! happy hits an3 situa- 
tions." 

The Sunt! ly- School Times: "One of the brightest child's 
books of the year." 

Mary Mapes Dodge, Editor St. Nicholas : " A really charming 
book." 

The Atlantic Monthly : " Merry and wholesome." 

The Independent : " Bright, musical and entertaining." 

The American: " ' The Boy to the Schoolmaster ' is worthy of 
Dr. Holmes." 



EDWARD EVERETT HALE'S 

TWO CHRISTMAS BOOKS— [Y) "Christmas at Narragansett;" 
(2 ; "Christmas in a Palace." Exch, 12mo, paper 25 cents; 
cloth $1.00. 
Worcester Spy : " A capital story teller is Mr. Hale." 
f^^on Globe : •' Mr. Hale is the prince of story tellers."' 



FUNK & WAGNALLS, 10-12 Dey St., New York. 



LIBRARY OF RELIGIOUS POETRY. 

A COLLECTION OF THE BEST POEMS OF ALL AGES 

AN& TOS'GUES. Edited by Phillip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., 

ana? Arthur* Giinian, M. A.. New Edition. Superbly bound. 

Royal 8vo, 1,004 pp., cloth, $G.C0. 

Full Page Steel Engravings. 

John Milton. William Cowper. 

Robert S iuthey. Edmund s-'pencer. 

J. G. VVhittit-r. Isaac Watts. 

Henry W. Longfellow. William Cullen Bryant. 

Henry Kirk White. Dante. 

William snakespeare. Alfred Tennyson. 

John Hall, D.I). : "It is just, discriminating and impartial 
in its selections. Nowhere else can one find in a volume so 
much varied wealth of devout sentiment and imagery, with 
enough of tlie personal in brief biographical notes and good 
portraits, to aid the memory and imagination." 

J. G. Whittier : ''Thoroughness, good taste and sound judg- 
ment are manifest on every page." 

Noah Porter, Pres. Yale College : " In the variety and good 
judgment and excellence of its selections, it must prove a 
house treasure to any family." 

Mark Hopkins, D. D., LL.D. : " The selections are ample and 
judicious, and the arrangement is admirable. I know of noth- 
ing like it in the English language." 

Prof. Moses Coit Tyler, Univ. of Wisconsin : "I have eDJoyed 
this work. I am instantly impressed by the catholicity as 
well as the delicacy of its principles of selection." 

Thomas R. Pynchon, D.D.. ex-Pres. Trinity College ; "It is ab- 
solutely essential to every scholar, and cannot but have a most 
powerful influence in cultivating the taste and purifying the 
imagination." 



FUNK & WAGNALLS, io-:2 Dey St., New York. 






SD 103 



CHURCH FAIRS; ARE THEY RIGHT? I 

GIVING OR ENTERTAINMENT, WHICH? A clear, ecu- 
else discussion on Churcb Entertainments in contrast to 
Giving. By Joseph 8. Van Dyke, D.D.12mo, 32 pp., paper, ; 

2*5 cts 
The Christian Intelligencer, KB* York: "This book takes a 
etrong position against modern methods of raising money in ; 
churches. It is a clear, plain, pungent protest against fairs 
and other entertainments for this parpose- The author sargu- 
ments are sound and unanswerable." 

DANCING; HURTFUL: 

THE PASCE OF MODERN SOCIETY. By William 01 
Wilkinson. 12mo, 78 pp., cloth, 60 cte. 
Partial Contents. 
Bearing Upod the I Its Influence upon Intelle 
fitv, Improvement. 

Its social Tendency. I Its Moral and Keligious Asp* 

Harper's Magazine : - The most pungent attack on the mod- i 

,o have ever read." 
Theodore L. CuyUr.D.D.: "A most pungent and powerful 

book." ■ 

i TWO BOOKS ON LABOR AND CAPITAL. j 

DOT PEOs THEIR JM^™ 

- iiington Gladden . Vimo, paper. 25 cts. ; cloth, ^ 1 
The Examiner. New York: "This book we. cordially 

It is sound and economic in principal and Christian in | 



PROPERTY IN LAND. A Passage at Arms between the Duke 
of Argyll and Henry George. 12mo. 77 pp., paper, 15 
neAr.elican.ScoUUkJournar, V r«*: » Both side, 
auestion are argued with great skill, and in the pro* , 
Zoning employed throughout the reader will discover much 
to^te? him in arrivi ng at a conclusi on on this question. 

INK & WAGNALLS, 10-18 Dey St., New York. 



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